Cruel Love
by Maiika
Summary: Having succeeded in his mission on Earth, Kakarot returned to Vegeta with one problem. Years later, he was hit with a surprise he didn't think possible. Bad as it seemed, it could be the opportunity he needed for redemption in the eyes of his fellow Saiyans. However, the Earthling survivors crossing his path had plans of their own. Gochi
1. Twist of Fate

Kakarot was waking up. At first, he couldn't remember where he was. He only knew it was cold where he was nestled in tight. When his round eyes fluttered open, he saw to his right the grayscale of starry space and his pod's metallic interior, while to his left, those same sights were tinted orange.

Where he'd been and what he had accomplished over the first eight years of his short life slowly started coming back to him as the feminine voice of his ship's programming filled his ears for a second time. _"Wake up, Kakarot."_

Kakarot removed the scouter cupped around his left ear to make room for his opposing fist rubbing into his bleary eyes.

 _"Welcome home to Planet Vegeta. Congratulations on returning from your first mission."_

Kakarot replaced the scouter before licking his dry lips, "so this is Planet Vegeta, huh?"

 _"Yes, Kakarot. This is your home planet."_

"Yeah, you said that already." Kakarot rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over the hard-plated armor stretched across his small chest. "Home."

With a wistful sigh, Kakarot turned curious eyes out the curved, tiny window of his space pod. What Kakarot remembered most about his planet was leaving it years ago. His memories of the green and blue Earth were much more vivid, though he knew that planet wasn't home. It would never be home, now that he left it in the greedy hands of the planet trade, as ordered.

As Kakarot's approach drew near, Vegeta's red, swirling atmosphere grew to swallow the view out his window. After staring in awe at the red planet, he blinked when his ship began vibrating.

 _"Entering Vegeta's atmosphere. Kakarot,"_ Kakarot scrunched his face as symbols began flashing across his scouter, reflecting off and tampering the view out his window, _"King Vegeta calls for your presence."_

 _"_ King Vegeta _?"_

Kakarot wrinkled his nose as the symbols in his scouter flashed details of his orders and further directions while beeping in his left ear. He wondered what would happen if he dismissed the course mapped out and instead ran off to go where he wanted the instant he landed. He wanted to fight someone. He wanted to eat something. He'd been stuck in stasis in this cramped space pod for months. The last thing he wanted to do upon arrival was meet with the king. Whatever this was about, it couldn't be good.

 _"Prepare for landing."_

Gritting his teeth, Kakarot closed his eyes. The approach was dizzying, as the closer he came to land, the faster he felt he was going and the more his space pod rattled. Closing his eyes was a lousy attempt at lessening the churning in his stomach.

There was a jolt as his ship made impact, sinking into the flexible landing pad before bouncing back to ground level. The hiss of the airlock sounded the instant his ship stilled, while Kakarot opened his eyes to see light seeping in from his lifting hatch.

Kakarot tapped his scouter to confirm and end the beeping message. Outside, the air was thick with humidity. When Kakarot stretched his small legs and stepped out of his pod, he turned heel on the vast gray tarmac with completely different intentions than heading into the palace straight ahead.

"Kakarot," a gruff voice called from behind him. "Where do you think you're going?"

With a harrumph, Kakarot peered sidelong at the expansive regal building all the way across the launch pad and stilled. "I just got here."

"And you've been summoned to King Vegeta, Third Class. Get moving, brat."

Grinding his teeth, Kakarot turned to the gravelly voice addressing him so demeaningly. He craned his neck to view the face of the overbearingly tall man in elite armor scowling down at him with a goatee, purple-lensed scouter, and bald head.

"I said get moving!" The guard shouted. "After botching your first mission, you're not going to keep the king waiting for your lazy hide."

"I completed my mission."

The taller man's mustache-lined lip pulled on one side as he smirked. "You missed a few, kid. And it took you nearly a decade to finish off a bunch of puny-"

"They weren't _all_ puny."

The larger man's eyes widened when Kakarot narrowed his. He may have been a kid, and he may have been third class, but he wasn't going to let this guy talk down to him about his power level _or_ his mission on Earth.

The man studied Kakarot before tapping his scouter. "King Vegeta, Nappa here. I have Bardock's kid. He's on his way now."

Bumping his fist to his heart, Kakarot shot the elite a smirk. "Thanks, _Nappa_."

When he turned towards the architecturally impressive building running alongside the tarmac, Kakarot frowned at the sound of footsteps following after him. Even more annoying than being escorted across the tarmac by an elite guard, or being summoned to see the king the moment he returned from his mission, was the thought of being deemed a failure. He knew there was not another living soul on that planet before he left it. There had been nothing picked up by his scouter, no sign of life anywhere on Earth when he left it months ago. This had to be a mistake.

With a sigh, Kakarot addressed the heavy footsteps behind him. "Are you going to follow me all the way there?"

"It's right this way," Nappa said before stepping forward and reaching for a button on the curve of royal blue wall.

Kakarot turned towards the hiss of an airlock release as the door by Nappa's hand slid open. Kakarot was now facing a long interior hall with a red carpet and more dark blue walls. Pursing his lips, Kakarot balled his fists and proceeded into the hall. He'd explain to the king that he didn't fail.

At his hurried pace, with Nappa's footsteps following after him, Kakarot reached a door with a royal emblem in no time. He didn't wait for Nappa's instruction, but reached for the button beside it in the same way Nappa had. The door opened to expose to him two men waiting inside.

Kakarot recognized the king immediately, not just because of his position seated in the center of the room and his wearing a cape and royal crested armor, but also because Kakarot recognized the stern face. It was an image that had been sent to his ship during his travels so he would know who to _bow to_ when he rejoined his people on Vegeta.

Kakarot also recognized the other man, who looked like a grown version of himself with a scar on the cheek of his worried face and red scarf around his head. That other man was not an elite, but he also needed no introduction. Kakarot remembered his father, Bardock.

"Kakarot," the king smiled, "have a seat."

Kakarot's eyes darted to his father, whose gaze was fixed on him. "No, thanks. I'd rather stand."

"Kakarot," Bardock hissed.

The king shrugged. "Suit yourself. Do you know why I called you here, boy?"

Kakarot glanced at Nappa standing over his shoulder in the doorway, then at his father standing tall by the king's side. Behind his father and the king, a panoramic screen hung on the wall of the confined room, with satellite images from another planet. Judging by the masses of water, Kakarot could've sworn it was Earth up on that screen. But that couldn't be right, or at least it couldn't be current. There was a cluster of red blips in one segment of the image, each indicating low to moderate power levels - indicating _life_.

"You called me here because," Kakarot took a deep breath and let it out, " _someone_ made a mistake."

"Yes." King Vegeta nodded. "You."

"No."

"Yes," Nappa growled.

Kakarot cast the guard a glare before turning his scowl on the king. "I _followed_ my orders."

"There were survivors." The king turned to the screen over his head, waving a white-gloved hand just before the cluster of red blips on the colorful screen disappeared, causing him to startle. "Nappa, what happened to the survivors?"

"Uh-I don't know, Sire."

"I'm _telling_ you," Kakarot growled, "there were no survivors."

King Vegeta bared his teeth as Nappa murmured into his scouter, demanding to someone that the image be refreshed. The screen turned black before the holographic map reappeared, exactly as it had been seconds ago - free of any signs of life. The planet was barren. Just how Kakarot remembered leaving it.

Kakarot smirked and crossed his arms. "See?"

"No," the king grumbled, narrowing his eyes pensively, "there _was_ life on that planet."

"King Vegeta," Nappa said with his finger still pressed into his scouter, "I just received word of an unregistered ship deploying from Planet Earth."

"Ah," the king smiled, "so that's where they went. Your survivors seem to be getting away, Kakarot. Maybe I should send you back to finish the job."

Kakarot bit his lip so hard he could taste blood on his tongue, yet he managed to maintain his cool as he stared down the king and his gloating smile. He could tell by the widening of Bardock's eyes and subtle shake of his head that it was not the time to lash out at the king. But Kakarot couldn't help himself.

"I just traveled all the way back here. I've already spent _eight years_ on that mudball," Kakarot said through clenched teeth. "Have someone else take care of them if you care so much, someone who's already in that quadrant!"

King Vegeta rubbed his hand across his bearded chin. "Do you know how these survivors escaped you?"

"Even if there _were_ survivors, does it matter?" Kakarot bared his teeth. "The planet's dead. The Planet Trade can sell it."

"I suppose you're right." The king turned a glare on Bardock, who tensed as the king turned back to Kakarot. "But let this be a lesson to you, Boy. Never return from a mission leaving survivors behind. You stay as long as it takes to finish your purge."

"The purge _was_ -"

"And if you make this mistake again," the king insisted, " _someone_ will pay for it. Whether it is you or someone else."

As the king gave Bardock a pointed look, Kakarot's frown deepened. He didn't appreciate receiving threats from the king, especially not the moment he arrived home. He really didn't appreciate being accused of making such a mistake. He _didn't_ leave survivors on Earth.

With a terse nod to the king and his jaw and fists clenched, Kakarot turned and left the room. Again, he could hear Nappa on his heels before the airlock hissed closed. He hadn't even greeted his father after seeing him for the first time since he was a baby, and here he had to tolerate more of _Nappa's_ presence. The king's keeping his father behind longer was probably a scare tactic. Well, Kakarot wasn't scared. He knew he'd be seeing his father at home eventually.

"Maybe if you get lucky, kid," Nappa chuckled, breaking Kakarot's thoughts, "someday you'll find those Earthlings and get the chance to redeem yourself."

"Lucky." Kakarot scoffed. "If there really are Earthlings out there, _they're_ the ones who're lucky."

Kakarot chalked the error up to technical difficulties, though he knew the king wouldn't, and neither would Nappa. They didn't care about a handful of humans loose in the universe anyway. Yet they believed Kakarot failed to complete that mission, just because of a lousy handful of blips on a screen and one wayward ship. They were jumping to that conclusion because he was a child. Or because he wasn't an elite. One way or another, they were underestimating him.

Kakarot would have future purges to showcase what kind of a fighter he was, what kind of a _Saiyan_ he was, to show the king and stuck-up elites that he was not one to be underestimated. And if it ever _did_ turn out that there was some lucky group of Earthling survivors out there in space, they'd better hope to never cross paths with him.

* * *

 _Ten years later..._

The undoubtedly quiet bursts of oxygen propelling their ship through space as they changed course went unheard over the raucous cheers of celebration happening inside. Aside from the fading, handwritten message of _hope_ Chi-Chi scrawled long ago beside the red CC emblem on its surface, the exterior of the ship was round and indiscriminate, like many others. A steadfast beep continued at the ship's console in front of the small group of Earthlings seated before it.

The sound brought a smile to Chi-Chi's face as she threw herself into the empty padded seat beside Yamcha. While listening to her friends' cheers of celebration reverberating off the rounded walls of the ship's main deck, Chi-Chi fixed her gaze on the small cluster of dots flashing on a green planet located within the holographic galaxy spread across the screen.

"This is it!" Bulma laughed as she stepped up behind Yamcha and draped her arms around his broad, armor-clad shoulders. "We've finally found them!"

Yamcha smiled up at her. "They really do exist."

"What'd I tell you all? If anyone was going to find them, it'd be me."

Chi-Chi's smile widened as she looked up to meet Bulma's knowing gaze. Bulma could share this achievement more closely with Chi-Chi than anybody, because Chi-Chi was the one who always had faith that they'd find something, even at times when things seemed hopeless. Maybe it was because she was naïve; maybe it was because she and Oolong were the only real children when they left Earth, and Oolong was cynical by nature. Her father, Yamcha and Puar were optimistic, too, but other factors gave them doubts. Factors like the monsters out there invading distant planets, as one once invaded the Earth.

"Ooh!" Mrs. Brief squealed from the port off the main deck. "This calls for a celebration!"

Chi-Chi rose from her seat. "I'll help you put something together, Mrs. Brief."

The older woman pivoted on her heels with a squinty-eyed smile on her pretty face as she led the way to the kitchen. Chi-Chi supposed Mrs. Brief and Dr. Brief were both pretty optimistic too, but like Master Roshi's friend Turtle, they weren't much help to their mission of seeking more of those magical orbs which once saved their lives back on Earth. Bulma's parents also weren't very cognizant of the bleakness of their reality, so being optimistic had to come easier to them.

After giving one last appreciative glance to Bulma, Chi-Chi let her eyes flit past the prominent screen and across all the other faces watching her before turning to follow Mrs. Brief. She could hear conversation resume as she left the main deck, with tones of jubilation and relief characterizing everyone's voices.

This certainly was cause for celebration. For too long, their small group had been the only Earthlings left, the only ones fortunate to escape that monster. But with this new information, where before there was only empty space and a tightly crammed spaceship to call home, there was now a sliver of hope for something better.

It only took a moment for Chi-Chi to traverse the short hall leading to the kitchen. Surrounded by Dr. Brief's practical design of bright lights on the ceiling and silver metal walls lined by metal cabin entryways controlled by buttons at her sides, Chi-Chi knew this wasn't the most scenic environment. But it was Chi-Chi's home she shared with her father and friends, who really were more family to her now than she would've ever imagined.

When she reached the tiny kitchen, Chi-Chi found Mrs. Brief with her head buried in the only upper cabinet located beside the refrigerator. Mrs. Brief paused at the sound of Chi-Chi's footsteps, curling her fingers around the door of the metal cabinet before peeking her head out from behind it.

Chi-Chi crossed her arms over the dark armor breastplate she wished was a softer, feminine material, like the pastel pink daydress Mrs. Brief was wearing. Unfortunately, Chi-Chi and Yamcha were the ones most often stepping out of the ship, the ones who could fight well enough to pass themselves off as Planet Trade soldiers and fit into the two uniforms they'd managed to steal without looking out of place among other soldiers. Therefore, she always remained dressed to play that role. There was no telling when an emergency would arise or a video feed confrontation would come about to question their unregistered ship. The uniform was a constant necessity, though it sickened her to wear the same style as those mass murderers.

"So, Mrs. Brief." Chi-Chi sighed and ran a hand through the wisps of bangs falling into her eyes. "What are we making?"

"Oh, Chi-Chi," Mrs. Brief pressed a hand to her cheek, "can you check what we have in the stock supply?"

Raising her brows, Chi-Chi stepped to the side, where an automatic door off the kitchen led to the supply pantry. When she pressed her thumb against the door panel, the door slid up to reveal a wall of darkness. Chi-Chi's first step forward echoed through the small compartment, indicating before she even switched on the overhead light that the supply was low. As brightness flooded the room and Chi-Chi untwined her fingers from the dangling metal cord, her eyes scoured the supplies for anything which could be used in a celebratory meal.

On the ground at the far wall, Chi-Chi spotted a lone sack of komugi, something they'd long ago discovered as a passable substitute for Earth's flour. Rubbing her chin, Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes and tried to decide what she could do with what was available to her. She thought perhaps she'd find ingredients to bake a cake, which was one of Mrs. Brief's favorite pastimes, but nothing else here looked useful. With a sour frown, she turned from the stock supply to see Mrs. Brief with her hands on her hips in the middle of the kitchen.

"No luck?"

"No." Chi-Chi forced a smile, like Mrs. Brief was already doing. "I guess we'll be celebrating over the standard dinner."

"That's all right!" Mrs. Brief turned to reach into the lower cabinet, banging and clanking pots and pans.

Chi-Chi reached for the refrigerator door, sharing her disappointed expression with the refrigerator's contents when the cool air hit her face. They would once again be cooking and eating yet another night of rationed soup with dried, gamy alien meat.

"Can I help?"

The warm, deep voice from the hall brought a smile to Chi-Chi's face, even in light of the disappointing discovery. "Dad."

"I'll do the cooking tonight," her father said, "if you ladies are looking for a break."

"Oh." Mrs. Brief giggled. "Aren't you sweet, Ox King."

Reaching for the chunk of cold meat near her face, Chi-Chi hardened her gaze and yanked the meat from the fridge. "I think we have it covered. We can handle this."

A heavy hand landed on Chi-Chi's shoulder before the door swung closed. "Chi-Chi, you should take a break. I...I think Bulma needs to see you anyway."

"Bulma?" Chi-Chi blinked as her father pried the cold, heavy chunk of meat from her fingers.

"Yeah," her father propped the meat in one massive palm while rubbing the other across the back of his thick neck, "they're talking about where we're heading next."

"Oh."

While Chi-Chi masked her expression, her father's eyes averted from her gaze. "I'll take care of dinner."

Frowning, Chi-Chi pressed herself against the refrigerator door while her father brushed past her, his broad shoulders barely fitting through the narrow alley between the counter and refrigerator with Chi-Chi standing there. His hesitance in telling her to go see Bulma, in letting her know this was about where they were headed, already had Chi-Chi disappointed. After this great discovery, there should've been no question they were heading to Namek. But that wasn't the case. Something was wrong.

As Mrs. Brief started prattling on to her father, Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes and slipped out the kitchen door without so much as a glance behind her. She was determined now to find out what Bulma's plan was, and exactly why that plan did not involve heading directly to Namek and finding those Dragon Balls.

Her gold-toed pointed boots tapped loudly as she stormed through the hall, into the wide open space of the main deck. At the same table she'd earlier left, Master Roshi now sat explaining something to Turtle and Puar with that serious look on his face that Chi-Chi knew too well. The man could be a pervert at times, but he was also a wise martial arts master who'd come closer to defeating that giant ape than anyone else back on Earth. Chi-Chi knew when it was time to take him seriously.

She slowed her pace while she observed those three, so deeply invested in Master Roshi's quiet murmurs that they seemed unaware of Chi-Chi's presence. They also seemed ignorant to Bulma and Yamcha's presence, though they were probably only acting that way to give those two a sense of privacy. There wasn't much privacy on the ship as it was. Chi-Chi's gaze, fixing on Bulma, softened as her feet drew to a stop. It was rare to see Bulma, who was usually full of focus and determination, smiling so easily. But it would happen in Yamcha's presence, when she wrapped her arms around him as she was doing. Chi-Chi liked to catch those fleeting moments. She often wondered how it felt. Not with Yamcha; he was like an older brother as much as Bulma was like an older sister, and from Chi-Chi's perspective, he was absolutely in love with Bulma. But she wished she could know how it felt with someone.

Chi-Chi's eyes widened when Yamcha's dark eyes shot to her watchful gaze. He was just a breath away from planting a kiss on Bulma's neck when his cheeks flushed pink and he slowly freed Bulma from his embrace. Chi-Chi turned away, her black ponytail flicking across her back with the suddenness of her action. She felt ashamed for watching them now, but it seemed Yamcha felt just as ashamed. He had nothing to be ashamed about. At least he'd experience love before he died, possibly even have children of his own with Bulma one day. Chi-Chi would have none of that if this wish didn't happen. The only other men alive, aside from humanoid aliens who always differentiated just enough to make Chi-Chi uncomfortable, like those Saiyans with their tails and transformations, were her father, Dr. Brief, and Master Roshi. And as much as Master Roshi and maybe even Dr. Brief would entertain the idea of fathering Chi-Chi's children, she would have _none_ of that. Though in the face of an existence completely void of a family of her own, the last resort wasn't that worse of an alternative.

Chi-Chi had to swallow those feelings and push them aside before she clenched her fists and approached the others. She had no time for worrying about love or lust while her survival was constantly at stake. Any one of them could be killed if they weren't careful out there, what with Planet Trade soldiers running rampant all over the universe. She had a job to do now.

As Chi-Chi stopped at Bulma's and Yamcha's sides, Bulma swept her short, blue hair from her eyes and issued Chi-Chi a smile which was sympathetic and hurtful all at once. There was true sympathy which Bulma conveyed, though the root of that sympathy was what pained Chi-Chi. Bulma was Chi-Chi's confidant, her closest friend, and the only other girl who had grown into a woman on that ship. She knew, better than anybody, the disappointment Chi-Chi felt which she was working so hard to hide. Though she remained strong, it was impossible to hide her feelings from Bulma, who could read her like an open book.

"Chi-Chi," Bulma said.

"Ah." Master Roshi gasped. "I hope this won't upset you, Chi-Chi, but we have some plans to discuss, it seems."

Chi-Chi crossed her arms and scowled. "So I gathered. What now?"

At Chi-Chi's hostility, Master Roshi's bottom lip quivered. "I-it isn't my fault this time."

"No." Bulma stood and smoothed the wrinkles in her knee-length dress. "It's not his fault, Chi-Chi. I guess you could say it's mine."

"Aw," Yamcha said, "don't say that, Babe."

"The ship's not going to make it to Namek," Bulma confessed. "I might've underestimated how much fuel we would need."

"Then we'll get more fuel," Chi-Chi insisted.

Chi-Chi didn't miss the uneasy glance Bulma exchanged with the others before turning to her. "We can do that but-"

"You know what getting more supplies requires, Chi-Chi," Master Roshi interrupted with a stroke of his beard.

Puar flew to Yamcha's side, sweeping his tail across the wide, white table. "But we have to land somewhere! We're low enough on food, as it is."

"Speaking of which," Turtle said with a smile, "what's this celebratory meal you and-"

"Fine." Chi-Chi bristled at the reminder of dinner before stubbornly turning her eyes from Turtle's amicable gaze to Yamcha's stern frown. "We'll make one last run."

With a curt nod, Yamcha agreed. They needed more than just fuel, and this run was unavoidable. They had their uniforms and custom fabricated weapons. They knew how to defend themselves if things got messy in the roles they had to play, having been through this countless times before. Chi-Chi was hoping this most recent time had been her last, now that they found the Dragon Balls, but it wasn't.

With a deep breath, Chi-Chi met Bulma's gaze. "What's the job?" Another wary unspoken exchange this time had Chi-Chi's lip curling into a scowl. "Bulma?"

"We've intercepted a contract." Bulma narrowed her eyes. "On a Saiyan, named Brolly."

Chi-Chi balked. "A hit? Are you crazy?"

Raising his hands, Yamcha rushed to speak. "We haven't taken it officially, Chi-Chi."

"We just overheard the transmission," Master Roshi said, "but we have enough information to know what we're going for."

"So we're not obligated." Bulma crossed her arms and issued that sly smile Chi-Chi hated. "No one will even know we're after him until we're collecting this huge payload which'll easily buy us everything we need."

Chi-Chi massaged the heel of her hand into her forehead which was beginning to throb. "You all are overlooking one massive problem."

"Brolly?" Yamcha guessed.

"Yes!" Chi-Chi stomped her foot. "We can't kill a Saiyan!"

"Oh yes we can." Bulma's eyes narrowed while lighting with excitement. "We just have to outsmart him instead of using brute force."

"Bulma."

"Chi-Chi," Bulma countered. "Imagine finally being able to give one of those jerks what they deserve."

Chi-Chi's glare softened. Bulma had a point. A Saiyan had ruined their lives and chased them from their home. He was probably doing the same on other planets over these past years. And the Saiyans who never stepped foot on Earth, _they_ were out destroying other planets and ruining other races, just like every other bloodthirsty race out there fitted by the Planet Trade with armor and scouter communication devices to do _their_ work. If Chi-Chi could give just one Saiyan a taste of the fate they'd suffered, she was all for it. She only wished this Saiyan was the same one who'd purged the Earth, though the chances of ever seeing him again were very slim.

With a grunt and firm nod, Chi-Chi gave her consent. However, this meant they would doubtlessly be traveling into Saiyan territory, maybe even landing on Planet Vegeta if this Brolly could be found at home, as rare as that was for Saiyans. Chi-Chi and Yamcha both could pass themselves off as the vile race, with their black hair and black eyes and how deceptively similar to humans those monsters looked.

She would do it, but she wasn't going to like it. Not until more Saiyans were dead, and more humans could be brought back to life.


	2. Convergence

Chi-Chi's job was simple. She'd done this a hundred times. All she had to do was stroll up to the bar, ask the soldiers a few questions, and if she was lucky, she'd leave this planet tonight with info on this Brolly they were trying to find. Chi-Chi pressed her shoulders back, feeling uncomfortable in her flexing armor as she followed Yamcha through the doors. The bar didn't look so bad. It was better than the ones they'd been to in the past nights. At least _this_ PTO hotspot was a regularly cleaned and monitored establishment. The ones further off the beaten path were always more unsanitary.

"You know what to do, Chi-Chi?"

Casting a sidelong glare at her companion whose eyes were scanning the crowded room, Chi-Chi huffed. "Of course I do."

"Remember-"

"We'll meet outside our rooms, leave first thing in the morning."

Yamcha tilted his head, raising his brows. "Are you sure you're okay with-"

Chi-Chi smiled. "I'll be fine, Yamcha. Are you sure _you're_ going to be okay?"

"Ha, ha," Yamcha said humorlessly. "Very funny, _Princess_. I can handle a few PTO guys on my own."

"Who said anyone was going to be fighting?"

"Uh!" With eyes wide, Yamcha grimaced at Chi-Chi's scowl. "That's not usually the plan, but you know how things happen."

Chi-Chi shook her head. It seemed to always be the way with these muscle-bound men. Yamcha wasn't nearly as bad as the other species of men she'd encountered in the past, the adrenaline junkies working _by choice_ for the Planet trade. They were all idiots.

"Focus on finding Brolly."

Yamcha's gaze hardened as his lips stretched into a smirk. "I'll find something, all right."

Chi-Chi returned the smirk. "We'll see who finds something first."

With a nod to the far wall, where a game of _ki-dart_ was being played and money was being thrown frivolously on the tables, Yamcha headed that way with a smile on his face.

Chi-Chi's smile fell into a hard line of determination as she set her eyes on an empty barstool straight ahead, beside a short, toad-like soldier swaying in his seat. Chi-Chi tried to contain the grimace she felt at the sight of him, but she recognized the emblem on his uniform. He wasn't just PTO. He was Ginyu Force. If she had to pick a man here who would know where to find Brolly, her best chance was that four-eyed drunk.

She licked her lips with nervous anticipation as she made her way to the bar, unable to ignore several pairs of eyes on her. She was one of only a couple women in the establishment, but she wore the armor which suggested she wasn't one to be challenged. Unfortunately, there was a table full of rowdy men in the dark corner who looked Saiyan. Saiyans enjoyed a challenge from a powerful woman. Saiyan men were also likely to know about their fellow Saiyan. They were _also_ the species Chi-Chi detested more than any other in the universe. If they _were_ Saiyans, she wanted to avoid them at all costs. Warily, Chi-Chi slid into the empty seat at the bar, catching the eye of the Ginyu Force member sitting beside her.

* * *

It was just another night of celebrating a successful purge. Kakarot's comrades were busy drinking, eating and laughing about the way the weak species on that last planet looked when they died. Kakarot was enjoying the food and drink, but that was where his enjoyment ended. He failed to find the humor in the way weaklings died. He never found amusement in killing weaker people. It was the other purges Kakarot enjoyed, like the one a few months back, where the natives were strong enough to give them a good fight. Tonight, he was fixated on the food and drink, because otherwise he'd be getting bored. The others would be aggravated by hearing complaints from him - not that picking a fight with one of them for the sake of excitement _wasn't_ an option he was seriously considering. While mulling over the thought, Kakarot reached the bottom of his plate. His eyes lifted from the crumb-covered porcelain to scan his surroundings.

The dark atmosphere of the bar was calm, semi-crowded, and clean. Kakarot hated bars like this. He hoped on their next purge, they'd be assigned further on the outskirts. He didn't only dislike the way Frieza Planet bars were maintained, but the constant patronage of Frieza's elite soldiers discomforted and annoyed him. His eyes darted to Guldo at the thought. Kakarot couldn't stand that guy.

Kakarot's brows furrowed as he leaned forward, noticing that Guldo was speaking to a woman. _That_ was unusual. But what was really surprising about it, was that the woman looked like a Saiyan, with her black hair and skirted uniform similar to the chest armor Kakarot wore over his black undersuit. Either something was wrong with that woman, or she was looking to get something important out of Guldo. Kakarot hoped it was the latter, and if so, he was going to find out what was so important. Finally, there was something interesting in the bar.

"Hey, Kakarot! You like that pretty little thing?"

Kakarot didn't bother peeling his eyes from her to address his comrade. "Maybe."

"Nice. And here I thought Kakarot wasn't interested in women."

As the others joined his comrade in laughter, Kakarot shot his mocking team member a smirk. "What's it worth to you to find out?"

"Find out?" Arnsip, the largest and eldest of the group, first blinked, then burst with laughter. "You think you can convince that woman to leave with the likes of you, Third Class? She's talking to _Guldo;_ way out of your league."

Kakarot snorted, but was cut short by a second comrade butting in, "I'd like to see this. Kakarot, I've just been assigned to Crep this coming month."

Kakarot's eyes widened. "Crep? No fair!"

"If you get her to willingly leave this bar with you, I'll trade you. Crep for whatever lousy assignment you're getting. But if you lose," the Saiyan said as he thrust a finger in the air, "you're sharing your rations with me."

"My rations?"

"Meat included," the Saiyan added with a chuckle.

Kakarot's clenched teeth quickly relaxed into a broad smile. Although the unimaginable thought of sharing his rations was discomforting, Kakarot knew he could do this. And the idea of challenging warriors like the Crepians already had his blood stirring. He wouldn't fail. All he had to do was convince that girl to walk out of the bar with him. He'd have to get rid of Guldo first, but that wouldn't be a problem. The guy had no tolerance for talking to Saiyans like himself, and had to be drunk enough by now that he could be blown over with a breeze.

With an affirming nod to his comrades, Kakarot rose from his seat, fixing his eyes on the woman with Guldo. Guldo was talking and waving his hand in the air while the woman patiently nodded. She was young – probably around Kakarot's age. Her pale skin looked soft, almost as if she hadn't spent a sufficient amount of time in battle for someone her age. When Kakarot was halfway across the bar, watching her adjust in her seat, he froze. She didn't have a tail. Then he shrugged and continued his approach. Neither did he. She probably lost it in battle, just the same as he did.

When the sound of Guldo's nasally voice hit his ears, Kakarot smiled. "Hey."

Guldo turned, scowling. "Who're you?"

Annoyed that Guldo failed to place him after all the times Kakarot's team had been forced to step aside for the intervention of the Ginyu Force, Kakarot glared back at the elite. "Nobody."

"No," Guldo slurred, sliding off his bar stool. "I've seen you somewhere before. Don't I know you?"

Kakarot turned his gaze on the young woman curiously watching them. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"

"Guldo," the girl answered, crossing her arms firmly. "Of the Ginyu Force."

Guldo snorted. "Do you realize who _you're_ talking to now, Pretty Boy?"

Kakarot furrowed his brows at Guldo's dumb statement, then raised a brow at the girl. This woman really _was_ bold, to be knowingly directly confronting a Ginyu Force member. Captain Ginyu trained his men to _despise_ Saiyans. Guldo had just made Saiyan slurs to Kakarot's team earlier that evening. Judging by the way he was looking at the two of them, Guldo seemed to think the girl was with Kakarot, so it was amazing she'd made it that far having a conversation with the little mutant.

"Well." Kakarot turned to the woman with a smirk, grabbing her by the arm. "Time for us to go."

"What?" she screamed in outrage, punching Kakarot's hand. "I'm not going anywhere!"

Gritting his teeth, Kakarot shook his wounded hand. Then he smiled at the feisty woman. "No? Well your Ginyu Force pal is."

As the girl gasped at the sight of Guldo waving a hand with a mysterious chuckle before walking away and grumbling irritably, Kakarot smiled. Now that he had Guldo out of the way, he had the woman to himself. But judging by the frown on her face and determined narrowing of her brows, she wasn't ready to leave it alone. She didn't realize how much he was helping her out here.

"Hey!" Kakarot barred an arm across her chest as she darted after Guldo.

"Guldo! I'm not done with you!"

Kakarot sneered at Guldo's back, hoping the mutant wouldn't turn around. This girl was proving to be more trouble than she was worth. She was going to land _him_ in trouble with the Ginyu Force if he wasn't careful. "Hey! Will you _stop_?"

She grunted, shooting Kakarot a glare. "I needed to ask him about somebody."

Kakarot laughed. "Guldo? He won't tell _you_ anything." As the girl raised her chin and swatted his hand aside, Kakarot darted after her. "Why don't you try me?"

She stopped, blinking. "You?"

At the sight of her pretty lashes fluttering over her wide, dark eyes, Kakarot smiled. "Try me. You spend some time with me, and I'll do the best I can to answer your questions. It's a better way to spend your night than getting yourself killed by a Ginyu Force member."

"Killed?"

"Yeah." Kakarot swiped some finger food from the nearby table as he led her to the door, while the girl looked behind him towards raucous voices, frowning. "Don't forget, the Ginyus don't talk to people unless they have other plans. Not even the weakest of 'em."

"Uh." The girl's eyes darted to something at the other end of the bar again, before she narrowed them at Kakarot. "You'll answer whatever I want to know about this guy?"

"Sure."

"You...what's your name?"

"How about we forget about names tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Let's keep this simple." Kakarot smiled and slid his arm over the girl's slender but firm shoulders, feeling triumphant as a lovely shade of pink washed over her cheeks. "I have more purges to get to soon. I don't want to worry about remembering new names when I'm on my free time. You can handle a little fun, can't ya?"

"Um." She hesitated, casting one last glance over her shoulder where surely Kakarot's comrades were watching them in awe, before Kakarot thrust the door open to expose them to the warm, humid air of the planet's atmosphere. "It's really important I find him soon. I need information _tonight_."

"Sure, sure." Kakarot tightened his grip around her silky shoulder, noting a unique, floral aroma wafting off the girl's hair near his nose as they turned down the lighted outdoor path. It was too bad it was time for them to part ways. "But you can forget about that now."

"Wh-what?"

When the door slammed closed behind them, Kakarot laughed triumphantly. "Too easy. Thanks, Girl."

After Kakarot turned and walked away, an indignant growl sounded behind him. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"I haven't decided yet." Kakarot shrugged as he continued walking. "I'll probably stop for another bite somewhere before calling it a night."

Noisy footsteps stormed up behind him. "What about my questions?"

"Try asking someone who cares next time. There. I answered one. See ya."

"No way!" Kakarot was whirled off-balance by the force of a small hand seizing him by the shoulder of his armor. "You owe me answers, you jerk, especially after you chased off my only lead! Besides," she added quietly with a frown, "what about…I thought-didn't you want-"

"All I _wanted_ was to prove I could get you out of there with me. It wasn't a hard bet t-"

"Wait. You ran off my only lead to win a _bet_?" She raised a clenched fist, baring her pretty teeth. "You _are_ going to help me find this guy, because now _you're_ the only-"

"Fine, fine." Kakarot waved a hand and sighed. "But if I'm going to talk with a pretty girl about some random guy who's _not me_ , we really are going to have some fun first."

"F-fun? With you?"

"Yeah. You do know what fun is, right?"

"Of course I do! But-"

"But what?"

"I-I don't even know you."

Kakarot raised a brow. "You want my scouter number and rank too? Are you this particular with every man you talk to?"

She pulled out of Kakarot's grasp, planting her hands on her hips. "There's nothing _particular_ about not wanting to spend the evening with a complete stranger!"

Kakarot smirked at the girl's feisty response before tuning out her continued ramblings to glance past her, where he spotted the enticing sight of a bustling outdoor food and game parlor. There was faint music with the tempting smells of roasting, seasoned meats carrying in the wind blowing from its direction. He was too elated with the promising scene in the distance to be deterred by the fierce scowl on her face.

"Ooh!" Kakarot seized the girl by her tiny wrist. "Over there! C'mon!"

Dragging the girl behind him, Kakarot ran for the place with signs touting the planet's best food, greatest entertainment, and finest music. The music was all instrumental, native to the planet and unique in a way that Kakarot couldn't really appreciate, but the entertainment looked promising, and by the savory smells, he could already tell it was going to be great. When he planted his heels in the dirt, drawing to a sudden stop, he was suddenly struck in the back of the head.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Ow," Kakarot whined as he rubbed his head and glared incredulously at the girl. "Bringing you _here_."

"Well, I can walk on my own, you know."

As she huffed and marched forward, Kakarot chuckled at her back. "I can see that. What do you want to do first?"

She turned, blinking her wide eyes as she pressed a finger to her supple bottom lip. "All I really want is to ask you some questions."

"This guy you're looking for must be really important. With smells like this in the air, how can you even _think_ about your dumb questions?"

"Dumb?" She furrowed her brows before Kakarot brushed past her, following the scents of juicy meat that had his mouth watering. "How can _you_ even think of food? Didn't you just eat?"

Licking his lips, Kakarot ignored her bizarre question and headed past tables full of casual diners. He was bee-lining to the racks of skewered, charred meat steaming beside an open grill where a brown-skinned, horned native in a blue apron was flipping raw cuts of meat over an open flame. Kakarot reached for a skewer, narrowing his eyes in warning at the cook who nearly chastised him for it, before looking to the girl. Her eyes were fixed on him, or more specifically, his freshly-moistened lips. He smiled as he pinched the warm skewer between his fingers, raising it to her gaze. "Want some?"

"M-me?" She shook her head furiously. "N-no, thank you."

As her gaze averted towards the ground, Kakarot shrugged. He shoved the skewer's contents down his throat with a satisfied hum, not caring about the scorching heat against his tongue or the massive size of the pieces pressing against his throat. The taste was too amazing for any mild discomfort to matter. His stomach was thanking him before the meat even made its way down.

"And you…" she trailed off, her eyes traveling to his backside and narrowing as she weaved to the side.

Kakarot smiled to himself, amused by the woman so blatantly checking him out, though it wasn't uncommon for Saiyan women to be forward. He hoped she didn't care about the missing tail, but seeing that hers was too, she had no room to judge. He didn't know she was interested in _that_ tonight, but it wasn't a bad idea. Time between purges could be boring for all-male crews, especially when the other aliens they encountered resembled bugs more than people. Running into a woman like her was a rare opportunity he shouldn't waste.

As Kakarot grabbed another skewer, he turned his gaze to the woman to see her pretty black eyes locked on his face. She really was an attractive Saiyan with a unique sort of beauty, so much softer and finer than any woman he'd ever seen. With a snap of his fingers, Kakarot called for a passing waiter's attention. The young alien in uniform halted by his side, casting a sidelong glance as Kakarot smiled.

"A drink for me and my friend here." Kakarot indicated an empty white table with a tilt of his head. "The strongest thing you've got."

"Uh-"

The woman's objection was cut short as the server hurried away, nodding in understanding, while Kakarot swooped into the chair with full, steaming skewers in hand. He waited expectantly, staring at the chair for her to sit, before tearing off another bite of juicy meat. As hot oils dribbled down his chin, Kakarot chewed in contentment, smiling with bulging cheeks when the girl finally sat across from him.

"I don't drink," she said meekly.

"Ohm?" Kakarot gulped his food down. "Why not?"

"I don't-I don't know." She rubbed her neck before fixing her gaze on Kakarot. "I just never was offered, I guess."

"Oh." Kakarot smiled. "You'll like it."

"How do you know?" She raised a brow. "Have you tried-"

"Here you go!" The table thumped as two drinks were thrust on the table between them, spilling bubbling purple liquid over the rim before the server released the mugs' handles and smiled at them. "Will that be all?"

The girl smiled insincerely at their server. "Maybe some napkins."

"Well," Kakarot looped his fingers through the sticky handle to raise his glass. "Here's to fun."

With a grimace, the girl lifted her glass by her fingertips. "To _answers_."

Foam tickled his top lip as Kakarot washed down the first hearty swig of the alien brew. He didn't know what they'd just been served, but ever since his first few years of purging on planets with food much less appealing than Earth's, he'd learned it was better not to ask. Whatever this purple, bubbling liquid with something solid and vague floating in the bottom was, it was potent. He felt the burn as it slid down his throat, tickling him from the inside and filling his core with warmth, before leaving an odd aftertaste in his mouth. Judging by the girl's sneer of distaste as she pulled the mug from her lips, she wasn't too impressed by the flavor, either. But she was looking for answers, and if Kakarot was going to hear annoying questions now, they had better at least be drinking.

"Now, what I need to know-"

Kakarot pressed the glass towards her before she could place it on the table. "Finish your drink. Then I'll answer."

She scowled, looking ready to press on, but Kakarot nonchalantly crossed his arms, shaking his head slowly at her in refusal. She could ask him a million questions, but he could sit here all night without answering a single one. And there was no way she could make him...though he was growing curious about her never-ending insistence about this.

As Kakarot watched her give in, finally tilting her head back to wash half the drink down her long, creamy throat, he wondered about the stranger this girl wanted to know so much about. Maybe it wasn't a stranger at all; maybe it was someone she knew. Maybe it was someone she was seeking out of revenge, or someone who owed her. Maybe if she was looking for a fight, Kakarot could tag along.

The girl thumped the half-emptied mug on the table, letting out a sigh as she wiped the back of her hand against her froth-covered lips. Kakarot didn't miss the glare she sent him before pressing the mug to her lips again. She was clearly impatient to get to her questions, and annoyed by his insistence of fun and relaxation first. With a smile, Kakarot took another swig of the disgusting liquid himself, delighting in the fact that he'd won this little battle, and invigorated by the giddy sensation caused by the foreign drink radiating through his body.

With her glass now empty, the girl propped her elbows on the table, leaning forward as her eyes narrowed. "I'm looking for a Saiyan."

Kakarot smirked and wiggled his brows. "Ooh."

She furrowed her brows, shook her head, and continued. "His name is Brolly. Have you heard of him?"

Kakarot stared impassively back at her as that name registered in his mind. It tickled at his memory until he recalled where and how long ago he'd heard it. He had no idea what this girl could want with that maniac. It was odd for a Saiyan to be asking another Saiyan of the whereabouts of _another_ Saiyan, though, as if they'd never heard of each other. Kakarot rubbed a hand through his hair, passing it a few times over the back of his head while his unruly spikes moved under his touch, before giving the girl a dubious shrug.

"Maybe. Is he important?"

She smirked, looking sharp, even as her eyes relaxed under the softening effects of the drink. "To some people."

"Like you?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe tonight," Kakarot said, reaching to brush his fingers over the soft knuckles of the girl's hand, "you should just forget about him."

"Oh?" She laughed dismissively and retracted her hand into her lap. "Why?"

"Because who cares?" Kakarot spat. " _I'm_ here right now. I thought we were having fun."

" _I_ care. I'm so close to something right now I've waited so long for…" she scoffed. "A PTO soldier like you wouldn't understand."

"You're right." Decisively, Kakarot stood, slapping the table before making his way around it to press against her side. "I don't care either, but I _want_ some satisfaction tonight – with you. Don't you want it?"

She cocked a brow, her face turning pink allover when she turned her head to look directly at Kakarot's groin. "I-i _-it?_ I don't…I can't…"

Kakarot smiled, amused by the way this girl was nearly hyperventilating, as if no one had ever propositioned her before. The strange music floating through the atmosphere was like a faint buzz in the back of his mind, combined with the heat of the atmosphere and the tastes lingering in his mouth from the food and drink. Kakarot would have been relaxed if it wasn't for the burning desire he felt as the warm, soft skin of her shoulder pressed against his heated body confined behind crude elastic and hard armor. He would trade a million answers to her questions for the smallest indulgence in touching her, tasting her, _feeling_ her.

But he knew that was a lie. He wouldn't be able to leave it at that, not with the overwhelming sensations he felt in this moment. He'd never felt this way before, not around anyone. Maybe the mere contact with her caused this electricity, like a million firings of ki, to happen inside him. Or maybe it was the drink doing this to him. Alien drinks had been known to have strange effects on Saiyans. But he didn't care what the cause was. He only knew what he felt and what he wanted.

Leaning down to her ear, he whispered, "Don't you want it?"

She shivered, so violently that he felt it in the way her hair danced against his cheek. Kakarot felt his lips spread into a self-satisfied grin. She wanted it. She wanted him. But he could already see her starting with her questions again.

As she rose from her chair to face him, he raised a hand. "I might know more about this Brolly if I can talk to some friends in the morning. Stay the night with me."

The girl's breathing slowed as her eyes set on him, alive with excitement and fear all at once. She opened her mouth and then hesitated, causing Kakarot to frown. He'd never made an offer like this. He couldn't imagine anyone refusing him, and therefor had no idea how to react during the split-second he thought she would. But then she issued a hesitant smile, and Kakarot's reciprocating smile only served to widen hers in return.

"He can wait until morning. I-I need to do something for myself for once."

With a sly smile spreading across his face, Kakarot looped his arm over her shoulders. "You mean you need to do some _one_."

She giggled, her admonition holding no weight as she slapped his chest. "Are you always so crass?"

"Of course!"

When Kakarot peered down at the girl, admiring her delicate collarbone and smooth skin of her heaving chest, the sight of a peek of cleavage in the shadows beneath her armor caused a lump to form in his throat. She was tense beneath his grasp, though her breathy exhales and their heavy silence during the walk implied she was just as excited about what they were about to do as she was nervous. Kakarot wasn't going to admit it, but this was perhaps the most impetuous thing he had ever done, and that was saying a lot for him. Yet he knew without a doubt, he wanted this. This was a chance he wasn't going to pass up, and regardless of whether the girl knew his name, or he knew hers, or she was possibly seeking her lost lover somewhere in space with her quest for Brolly, Kakarot was going to remember this as one of his best decisions.

He felt like he had a connection with this unnamed girl, and in spite of the casual nature of their circumstances and his empty promise of answers in the morning, this was something deeper to him than a fling. Judging by the way the girl's pearly teeth gnawed her dark pink bottom lip while her lashes moved rapidly with a wild gaze flicking past the brown wall of doors as they walked to his hotel room, she wasn't taking this lightly, either.

With a heavy exhale at the door, Kakarot barred his arm in front of her, pressing his palm against the familiar numbers in lighting above the entrance to his room. As he scanned his thumbprint across the access panel and heard the beep granting him access, Kakarot leaned forward, taking the opportunity to encompass her lips with his for the first time. His breathing accelerated the instant he felt her soft, warm mouth against his lips, gasping one last breath before pressing back fervently with an intruding moist tongue. She tasted like a mixture of the drink they'd shared and the most delicious, silky sweetness he'd ever enjoyed. His hand flew up to cradle her cheek as she leaned back, pressing the door open with her body as she backed them into the room, tugging him right along with her. Kakarot rubbed his painfully hardening arousal between her warm legs as they fell into bed together, before the door slammed shut behind them, closing them into darkness, into the greatest indulgence Kakarot had ever known.

* * *

A/N: I am not including the actual smut in this story, but taking more of a fade-to-black approach. HOWEVER, I have written the smut that happens here, at least. But if you want it, you'll have to go to the Archive of Our Own fanfiction site to read it. It's titled "Moment of Selfishness" and I use the same pen name there, so it should be relatively easy to find.


	3. Repulsed

When Chi-Chi awoke the next morning, the pulsing light shining from outside through the hotel window mirrored the pounding in her head. She exhaled and rubbed her hands over her face, unsuccessfully trying to will the pain away.

When she moved to sit up, a similar throbbing shot between her legs and traveled down her inner thighs. Chi-Chi's eyes shot open and her face flushed as inappropriate memories rushed to the forefront of her mind. She heard the soft breathing beside her. Felt the weight shifting the mattress when she hadn't moved. Smelled the lingering scent of sex in the air. It all hit her at once.

Chi-Chi shot a sideways glance at her sleeping bedmate, uncertain whether to allow herself to panic or remain calm. They were both consenting adults. There were no strings attached with what she'd done with this nameless soldier.

Her eyes combed his naked body. He was facing away from her, the toned muscles of his back flexing and relaxing as he breathed. His wild black hair covered nearly every inch of his white pillow. Chi-Chi bit her bottom lip as she sat up, raising a hand over his sleeping form and hesitating. She didn't want to wake him, but she was tempted to feel his skin against hers again. Her eyes traveled lower, greedily taking in what she was hesitant to touch. And then she saw it.

It was only a little scar. But it was the _location_ of the scar and what it _meant_ that made her hot blood instantly run cold. He had a tail. Or at least he had one at some point. He was a Saiyan.

Chi-Chi scrambled off the bed, at first moving quickly due to her revulsion, but slowly when she saw him stir. She would not make a sound. She wouldn't dare wake him. She had to get out of there, away from that murderous bastard.

Traitorous tears burned at the back of her eyes as she collected her clothing in the quiet, stale atmosphere of the room. She was angry at his lack of candor, but even more at herself for failing to notice with whom she was getting into bed. There was no level of drunkenness which could be used as an excuse for this. Was she that desperate for physical gratification that she was willing to overlook what kind of scum she was spreading her legs for? Because she should've known. Not knowing who or what he was didn't matter. All Saiyans were monsters.

She'd given her virginity to a monster.

Fighting back a sob, Chi-Chi finished dressing and ushered herself to the door. She cringed when the turn of the handle sent a loud noise through the dark room. When the Saiyan only rolled over in bed and continued sleeping, Chi-Chi heaved a sigh of relief. She slipped out the door, intent on returning to her ship. In addition to this devastating realization about the biggest mistake she'd ever made in her young life, rejoining Yamcha and the others meant Chi-Chi would inevitably be drilled about where she'd been all night, and what information she'd found. Well she'd failed on both counts. She knew now that the Saiyan was never going to answer her questions, even if he did know something about this Brolly.

* * *

Chi-Chi found Yamcha outside the same bar from where they'd split the previous night, tying a brown canvas bag shut and flinging it over his broad shoulder. He looked up at her, his eyes going wide.

"Chi-Chi!" She didn't flinch at the expected sharpness in his voice. "Where've you been all night?"

She met his eyes as she walked at a fast pace to meet him. Then she continued past without a word.

"Chi-Chi!"

"Hurry up, Yamcha," Chi-Chi said, rushing over the sidewalk and into the wide open field. "I want to get off this planet."

His running footsteps followed. "Did you find anything?"

Chi-Chi bit her tongue, refusing to meet Yamcha's gaze as he sidled up beside her. "No."

"What's _with_ you this morning?" Yamcha asked before flinching. "Have you been cr-"

"Did you find anything?"

"No. W-well maybe. I think so. Chi-Chi, you-"

As Yamcha's soft touch graced her shoulder, Chi-Chi shrugged it off. "Good. Let's talk about it at the ship, huh? Bulma will be pissed if we discuss our intel without including her."

Without giving Yamcha a chance to say another word, Chi-Chi broke into a run. Her heart was pumping at the urgent need to get away from the planet as fast as possible, before _he_ would wake up and possibly come looking for her. And the discussion with Yamcha was already escalating her roiling emotions. There was no getting around the fact that she was hiding something about the night before. Bulma's questions would be even worse. And that girl could be relentless.

When Chi-Chi reached their ship docked in an open field, she darted through the hatch that opened for her in welcome. She hoped to avoid running into anyone on her way in, though she knew her presence was already announced. Just a few minutes. If she could have just a few minutes alone to sort through her feelings, she could face them all.

"Chi-Chi!"

She froze at her father's voice behind her, so jovial, warm and welcoming. Chi-Chi didn't have the heart to shake him, nor could she, being exposed in an open hallway with nothing to hide behind. Forcing a smile, she slowly pivoted to meet his gaze.

"I'm so glad you made it back unscathed," her father said as he rushed forward and swooped her into his massive arms.

Enduring a hug which should've been comforting but only fueled her guilt, Chi-Chi frowned into her father's smothering chest. Whether she made it back _unscathed_ was a matter of opinion. When he released her, she put her smile back on, hoping to avoid piquing her father's suspicion.

"Well," he said, looking toward daylight's soft red glow shining through the open hatch, "where's Yamcha?"

"He's right behind me," Chi-Chi said, finding her opening to escape. "Why don't you wait here to meet him? He has a load he might need help with."

"Oh, good. Dr. Brief says we're in need of med supply again."

Chi-Chi grimaced. If she felt bad before, she felt absolutely awful now. She'd completely forgotten about supplies. They were always supposed to return to the ship with goods. It was a good thing they'd loaded up on food at the last planet. It was a good thing they had Yamcha. Chi-Chi's empty-handedness was only going to arouse further suspicion from her crew mates.

When her father shifted toward the door, Chi-Chi broke into a fast walk down the hall. She darted through first door she could find, which led into a storage closet. She would get her few minutes to sort through the mess in her head alone in the dark. When she would be confronted by the others, she had no idea what she was going to tell them. One thing she was certain of though, was that her very private and personal experience with the Saiyan was the business of no one else on that ship but her.

Footsteps passed on the other side of the door, accompanied by Yamcha's traveling voice, "I know she made it here before me. She can't be far."

With a weary groan, when his footsteps disappeared, Chi-Chi stepped out of the closet, into the bright light of the empty hall. It was time to face the music - if an endless chorus of questions and Bulma's shrieking could resemble anything remotely musical.

After a solemn and quiet walk through the hall, Chi-Chi converged on the voices coming from the core of the ship. Yamcha's bag was set on a table, where Dr. Brief was sorting through its contents. Yamcha's back was turned to his haul while Puar flew down to perch on his armored shoulder. Master Roshi, Oolong, and Ox King were already busy with their questions, asking Yamcha about his latest planetary escapades. Bulma was at the controls, prepping the ship for takeoff, for which Chi-Chi was very grateful. Right now, launching into space was her top priority, followed closely by the preservation of her dignity.

"Here she is," Master Roshi said, the first to lay eyes on Chi-Chi.

Chi-Chi crossed her arms, attempting to cover herself, as if the others could see her shame. As if Master Roshi's lecherous eyes could see a play-by-play through the dark lenses of his glasses of the scandalous things she'd done with a Saiyan in that dark room the night before. She knew it was ridiculous, but her face burned at the very thought.

"Chi-Chi!" Bulma slammed her hands on the control console and shot to her feet. She was lucky she didn't break their ship. "You had Yamcha worried sick! Do you know how many calls I received from him this morning telling me you hadn't reported back last night and he _still_ didn't know where you were?"

Chi-Chi angled Yamcha a reproving glare and tightened her arms. He broke their expressed agreement to never involve Bulma. What happened in the line of duty with PTO soldiers was to remain between them. Though Chi-Chi realized Yamcha had to be very concerned about her to step over that line, she couldn't help feeling angry at him for this betrayal.

Yamcha winced and turned his eyes on Bulma. "Hey, Babe. It's all water under the bridge now. Chi-Chi's here-"

"And where _was_ she?" Bulma asked, before setting her glare on Chi-Chi again. "Huh? Yamcha brought back painkillers and information. That's more than you brought back. And returning empty-handed isn't like you, Chi-Chi."

Chi-Chi gasped, setting hopeful eyes on Yamcha. "You have information on Brolly?"

"Yeah, I-"

"He has _probable_ whereabouts," Oolong interrupted with a scowl. "But knowing who he got it from..."

" _Precise_ whereabouts, Oolong," Master Roshi muttered.

"-there's as likely to be a trap waiting for us as this psychotic Saiyan we're chasing after." Oolong crossed his arms and huffed. "Like a bunch of suicidal lunatics."

"Oh, _please_ , Oolong!" Bulma yelled, waving a dismissive hand in the air before propping her hands on her hips. "A trap? Who would bother setting a trap for _us_? The majority of this universe doesn't even know we exist!"

Master Roshi rubbed his chin, setting a solemn gaze on the white lacquered table at which he was sitting. "What they _know_ we have is two beautiful young women, a ship, and able-bodied fighters," he added with a pointed glance at Yamcha.

"As has just about every other ship traveling out here," Chi-Chi grumbled.

"Not really, Chi-Chi. No," Bulma said. "Women like us are valuable. We need to watch our backs, knowing the kind of jerks that are out there. Still," she added, shooting Master Roshi a glare before he could interrupt. "I trust Yamcha's intel. I already set the coordinates for Tukee."

"Tukee?" Turtle asked, his deep voice drawing Chi-Chi's eyes to the space beneath the table.

"That's where you said Brolly was," Bulma said. "Right, Yamcha?"

Yamcha nodded. "Planet Tukee. Or so said a drunk soldier last night, before I swiped his med kit."

Oolong blew a raspberry. " _Precise_."

"Interesting," Dr. Brief mused, blinking up at the panoramic screen morphing to the galaxy of said destination. "That's a bit far off from Saiyan territory."

"Good," Chi-Chi huffed, plopping into the chair at Bulma's side. "The further from Saiyan territory we can get, the better."

Chi-Chi wasn't going to wait for further confirmation or planning. Her fingers went to work, hastily punching at the multicolored, lighted buttons on the control panel. Destination Tukee, approximately four days travel. Hatches sealed. Hyper drive on. When Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes at the screen above her, the engines roared to life.

"Yes," Dr. Brief drawled over the growing hum of the engine, "but _why_ is he so far out?"

"Dad!" Bulma cried in frustration.

The ship propelled forward, powered by its thrusters. Chi-Chi clutched the metallic arms of her chair. Those who were still standing stumbled. Bulma was nearly knocked off her feet until she grasped the back of Master Roshi's chair.

The old man's suggestive chuckle and the nauseating momentum of the ship didn't deter Bulma from scolding her father. "Brolly is a wanted man! Staying around other Saiyans would be plain stupid. Not that anyone's accusing Saiyans of being smart."

"Can we think about this for a minute?" Oolong asked.

As the planet's hazy bright atmosphere disappeared out the windows aside and above them to be replaced by the blackness of space, Chi-Chi shot Oolong a challenging glare. She knew he was bound to try weaseling out of this job at some point, but she didn't expect it this early. There was nothing dangerous about traveling to Planet Tukee. If Oolong realized how dangerous it was to stick around where they were, he would've been punching the ignition faster than Chi-Chi had.

"I mean," Oolong added meekly. "We don't want the Saiyan to see us coming, right?"

His eyes scanned the crowd of crew mates frowning back at him, though Chi-Chi realized she and Bulma weren't just frowning - they were glowering. And for good reason. They'd waited for this opportunity long enough. Oolong's cowardice was not going to get in their way of finally restoring the human race.

Bulma crossed her arms. "Brolly's not expecting us and Tukee is a highly populated planet. He _won't_ see us coming."

Chi-Chi frowned, biting her bottom lip. This mission was beginning to sound dangerous, and not just for her crew. She hadn't considered the complication of finding their bounty in a populated area. The only way for this to work without causing bloodshed was if the Saiyan remained absolutely unaware of their presence. Which was nearly impossible when almost every Saiyan and murderous alien alike wore scouters these days.

"Even so." Chi-Chi's father heaved his massive weight into an empty chair beside Master Roshi and wrung his hands together. "We should be careful."

"Yes," Master Roshi said, nodding. "Definitely."

"We can't just confront a Saiyan around all those innocent people," Chi-Chi added. "This could get pretty ugly."

"Don't worry," Bulma said. "I have the perfect plan to extricate him from that planet to a recently purged planet. Should be desolate enough for our purposes."

"I guess _I'm_ not talking you girls out of this," Oolong moaned. He turned a penetrating gaze on the cat hovering over Yamcha's shoulder. "Well. What do _you_ think, Puar?"

Puar stared solemnly at Oolong, before turning his eyes on Yamcha. "Yamcha?"

"We have to be absolutely sure no one else gets hurt," Yamcha decided, shooting Chi-Chi an amicable smile before addressing Bulma. "If we can lure him off Tukee, I'm in."

"Then it's settled," Bulma said, reseating herself at the controls. "I'll start scouting for nearby purge targets."

Chi-Chi blinked. "PTO missions? You can track those?"

"Chi-Chi," Bulma said, her chin raised as her fingers glided over the flickering rainbow of keys. "I can do anything. As long as I stay out of trouble." She paused her finger motions to shoot Yamcha a flirtatious smile, before raising a brow at Chi-Chi. "Speaking of _trouble_."

Chi-Chi tensed. Under Bulma's scrutinizing gaze, heat began rising to Chi-Chi's face. With all the commotion about leaving to find Brolly, she'd hoped questions about her whereabouts overnight would be dropped. With Bulma, she should've known better.

Bulma hummed a note of surprise as she observed Chi-Chi's face more attentively than Chi-Chi would've liked. "You seem embarrassed, Chi-Chi. Now I'm really curious. What happened to you last night?"

"I-" Chi-Chi shot Bulma a fleeting glance before gulping and turning her eyes on the planetary field projected above. "I don't know what you're talking about. Don't we have to worry about the aliens who _took_ this contract on Brolly getting there before us? You know, since we _officially_ didn't."

"Oh," Yamcha said. "That's a good poi-"

"Not now, Yamcha," Bulma snapped. "Chi-Chi, don't change the subject. Where did you go after the bar last night?"

Chi-Chi's cheeks were getting hot. She leaned her hands on the metallic console and rose to her feet. She could feel Bulma's and Yamcha's eyes on her now, and undoubtedly Puar's as well, but she refused to look at any of them. "It's not important. What's important is that Yamcha found the information we needed, and-"

"Not _important_?" Bulma blustered, shooting to her feet. "Since when is anything _you_ do on an alien planet not important?" If possible, Chi-Chi's face grew hotter due to her embarrassment mingled with a touch of rising fury. "You only tolerate dressing yourself like a PTO soldier for the sake of our missions. And now you're-"

A wide-eyed Yamcha placed his hands on his girlfriend's tense shoulders. "Bulma."

Bulma shook him off. "-telling me whatever prevented you from making progress last night doesn't matter? What are you hiding, Chi-Chi?"

"As a matter of fact, _Bulma_ ," Chi-Chi snarled back, "I _do_ only tolerate dressing this way for the sake of our mission. But I do my part and the one time I screw up, I don't need to be questioned!"

Bulma crossed her arms and stilled, her nostrils flaring. "You're hiding something."

"Maybe I am," Chi-Chi retorted, whipping her long hair over her shoulder. "But that's none of your business."

"Chi-Chi," Yamcha said, his eyes growing wide with concern, "are you sure you're okay?"

Chi-Chi's chest heaved as a growl rumbled in her throat, which only served to further alarm Yamcha and the others. The rest of the ship was silent. By now, they were all listening in on this. Chi-Chi ground her teeth and shook her head. She knew they were asking out of concern for her, but she couldn't handle any more questions. Because the truth was, she _wasn't_ okay. She was ashamed and infuriated at herself for what she'd done with that Saiyan. For what she'd let him do to her. For not killing him herself when he'd made himself vulnerable. And even worse, though the slightest thought of him filled her with rage, it also made her shiver. The thoughts of his touch - his powerful yet gentle caresses as his hands roamed her body - they just wouldn't leave her alone. No matter how much she wanted him dead.

"Chi-Chi?" her dad whispered.

Chi-Chi screamed. As everyone cautioned a step back from her fury, she waved her arms wildly in the air. "I'm fine! It's none of your business what I was doing! Nothing happened!"

"Chi-Chi!" Yamcha gasped.

"Thank you for doing a great job, Yamcha, but I'm tired. I think I'll go to my room to be," Chi-Chi shot a warning glare to everyone in the room, " _alone_."

She pivoted on the spot and stormed to the hallway, making so much noise in the process that she couldn't be sure she wasn't followed. By the time her door came into view and she slowed to meet it, she could hear footsteps behind her. A single set. Clenching her teeth, she refused to look back as she reached for the control panel and watched the door slide open in front of her.

"Chi-Chi!" It was Bulma.

Chi-Chi shook her head fervently and stepped into the room. When she turned to reach for the interior control pad on the wall, Bulma was in the hall, staring back at her with eyes large with concern. Chi-Chi punched the button, sealing herself off from Bulma, alone in her room.

"Chi-Chi," Bulma's voice was barely audible through the thick door. "Please talk to me. You can tell _me_ , can't you?"

"You and Yamcha should talk about what to do if we meet some resistance on Planet Tukee, Bulma," Chi-Chi said, wiping a traitorous hot tear from her cheek. "It would be a shame to get this far and lose our target now."

"Chi…"

Bulma's voice was weary, and as Chi-Chi stared at the dull shimmer of the metal door in the darkness, she could tell her friend was losing her resolve. It wasn't like she could avoid Bulma forever. There was nowhere for Chi-Chi to go. But for now, she needed to be alone with her thoughts. Hopefully, she could push the handsome Saiyan out of mind. With a heavy sigh, Chi-Chi turned for her bed, reaching it within one step. She threw herself onto the soft mattress, beneath the bunk where Bulma slept above her, and curled into her pillow. The softness against her cheek was soothing and upsetting all at once. The tactile touch was calming, but it also reminded Chi-Chi of curling her fingers into the pillow at that hotel room and turning her face into it, moaning as her body was filled with gripping sensations like she'd never felt before. There was no denying the things he made her feel. She had to remind herself of who he was. He was the man who transformed into a giant ape in order to kill people.

No, he wasn't a man. He was a monster.


	4. Thump

There was noise outside the door. Usually, Kakarot didn't mind noise, but when it was Arsnip's voice grating on his ears and disturbing his sleep, he minded. Especially when the woman in his bed could be scared off by Arsnip's shouting. Kakarot rolled over to reach for her warm body. He could go another round before he'd have to leave this planet.

His hand hit the soft bedding with a muted thump.

"Huh?" Kakarot opened his eyes to shadowed valleys of piled blankets and a shimmering light shining from the window beyond the bed.

He rolled in the opposite direction, as if he would find her standing on the other side of the mattress. But of course he wouldn't. He would've sensed it if someone was standing over him. Kakarot grit his teeth and sat up as he panned his gaze across the dark, vacant, stuffy room.

Arsnip was still yelling outside.

Kakarot kicked his bare feet over the side of the bed and approached the door in long strides. He threw it open to the bright red haze of this planet's morning light. He stepped out, turned left, and then right. No sign of her down the hall, not even a trace of her backside before she disappeared. It looked like she was long gone. But his Saiyan crew mates had been out there for a while. Their conversation ceased at the moment of his appearance. Now they were staring at Kakarot, raising brows and dropping their jaws.

"Where'd she go?" Kakarot asked.

Squatch looked around. "Who?"

Arsnip groaned. "Dammit, put some clothes on, Kakarot."

Arnsip was wearing a grimace of disgust, but some of the others snickered. Kakarot didn't care about whether he was dressed. The guys had all seen each other naked before and the aliens on this planet probably didn't know the difference. But Kakarot's irritation grew as Squatch continued looking around. None of them seemed to register who Kakarot was talking about.

Kakarot rolled his eyes. "The woman who spent the night with me."

"The one from the bar?" Arsnip asked, looking more shocked than he should've been.

"Yeah," Kakarot huffed. " _That_ woman. She had to come past here. And don't think I forgot about our bet last night. Crep's mine."

Arsnip narrowed his eyes at Kakarot. Then he glanced over each of his shoulders at the crew mates behind him, before flashing his teeth at Kakarot. "Yeah, _sure_. She spent the night with you. _That's_ why there's no trace of her now." The men laughed. "You almost had us, Kakarot."

"Dammit," Kakarot groaned. "I'm going back to the bar."

"Put some clothes on first," said Squatch.

"Yeah," Arsnip laughed. "You don't want to frighten the natives."

Kakarot chuckled deviously. "Why not?"

"As this purge team's captain," Arsnip said, clenching his teeth, "I order you to suit up in your armor before going anywhere. Have some pride!"

"Oh, Arsnip," Kakarot drawled. "I won't embarrass you. Wouldn't want word getting to our king that Arsnip's crew was responsible for embarrassing the Saiyan race."

"No," Arsnip snapped. "We wouldn't."

With a mocking salute, Kakarot turned his bare ass on his comrades to return to his room - to get dressed. He couldn't leave this planet without satisfying his curiosity about her. The mysterious Saiyan woman had been so hesitant and shy the night before, only to screw him and leave without a word this morning. Something was off.

* * *

"Nothing was off about her," Guldo said, "as far as I saw it."

Kakarot scowled at the brown bartop. As far as Guldo saw it wasn't very far at all. Sitting in the quiet morning remnants of the bar's nighttime activity, Kakarot found not only Guldo, but all of his Ginyu Force pals. A withered, pink-skinned bartender was replenishing the shelves from the night before with new bottles, keeping his mouth shut. The rest of the Ginyus surrounded a table full of empty glasses, scowling at Kakarot, looking impatient to deploy for their next mission. Kakarot wanted answers about this woman before they'd go.

Guldo, the little imp, wasn't proving much help. He didn't even seem to recall that last night he was having a companionable chat with a Saiyan.

"Guldo, mate," Jeice said, throwing his bush of white hair over his armored shoulder. "In all honesty, you were _blasted_ last night. You gotta admit some things just weren't normal."

Burter laughed and thumped his fist on the table. "Like a Saiyan woman wanting to talk to _you_. If it wasn't for Kakarot here admitting it, I wouldn't even believe it."

"Saiyan?" Guldo balked, before snickering through his teeth at Kakarot. "You think she was a Saiyan?"

"She was," Kakarot said.

"No," Guldo laughed. He rolled his eyes, including the outer ones. "Ah, this is too rich!"

Kakarot balked. "What?"

"Tell me, did you spend any quality time with her last night?"

Kakarot's brow twitched. "We fucked. What's it to you?"

Guldo exploded with laughter. The other Ginyus were smiling, but clearly not in on the joke yet. Kakarot grit his teeth as Guldo's obnoxious laughter carried on. With a growl, he advanced on the little bastard, but the other Ginyus rose from their seats. Kakarot continued baring his teeth, but didn't dare go further. He was never going to find out what Guldo was talking about if this escalated to a fight. He'd have to remember this for later. He didn't like being mocked.

"You Saiyans," Guldo said, wiping away a tear and gasping for air, "are a riot! So stupid. Right under your nose!"

Kakarot clenched his fists to restrain himself. " _What_ was right under my nose?"

"Hey guys," Guldo said, ignoring Kakarot as he turned to the Ginyus. "Remember years back, that Saiyan kid who let a few survivors give him the slip?"

"Of course," Burter hissed, shooting Kakarot a glare. "Lord Frieza was so angry."

"Yeah," Recoome added with a pout. "Dumb move."

They all knew very well they were talking about him. Kakarot felt his anger swelling. He wasn't going to be able to contain it much longer if they kept up with this. He didn't even know how rumors of that supposed screw-up made its way beyond Planet Vegeta.

"As I've been saying for years," Kakarot said through clenched teeth. "None of those weaklings slipped past me."

"Oh, no?" Guldo giggled, raising a brow. "Then how was I just talking to one?"

Kakarot balked. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at each of the Ginyu Force members, all of them but Guldo looking as clueless as Kakarot felt. He had no idea what Guldo was hinting at. His rising confusion seemed to siphon his anger. It was almost as if Guldo had just fed him a riddle. He _couldn't_ have talked to an Earthling. That was what Guldo was hinting at, right?

Kakarot scratched his head. "One what?"

"Earthling. Well you should know," Guldo said, his smile growing smugger by the minute. " _You_ slept with her."

Kakarot released a scream, lunging for Guldo too fast for the other Ginyus to intervene. He lifted the little freak by the lapel of his armor. The other Ginyus hovered menacingly over Kakarot, growling in warning.

"Let him go, Kakarot," Burter said, placing a heavy hand on Kakarot's shoulder.

Kakarot knew he could destroy Guldo, easily. It was the other Ginyus who could be a challenge, especially when he was outnumbered. And of course if he hurt any of them, there'd be repercussions later from Frieza. He loosened his grip until Guldo fell to the floor, his boots hitting the ground with a thump. Burter's vice-like grip on his shoulder didn't relent.

"What are you getting at, Guldo?" Kakarot spat.

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Guldo asked with a sneer that twisted into a smile. "Wait, of course I do. You're a dumb monkey. You're repeating the same mistakes, Kakarot. Chi-Chi told me she's a human –from Earth."

Kakarot only vaguely registered the name Chi-Chi. His world was closing in on him. The Ginyus, the bar, it was as if all of it was being pressed in his face, smothering him. He _couldn't_ have heard what Guldo just said. Guldo was only taunting him. That had to be it.

"No! You're lying!"

When Kakarot rushed for Guldo this time, Burter's fingers dug into his shoulder, restraining him. Then Burter laughed in his ear. The others joined in.

"Kakarot," Jeice shouted, "was your mission to kill the Earthlings or fuck the Earthlings?"

"I can see how it's easy to confuse the two," Guldo added snidely.

"How," Burter snickered, "do you manage to get a woman in bed without knowing a thing about her? You didn't even know which species she was!"

"It's easy, actually," Kakarot retorted tersely, "if you've got the good looks to pull it off. But I'm sure none of you would understand that."

Recoome's eyes went wide. "Hey!"

"Guldo," Kakarot said. "I won't let you spread lies about me! Who was she really?"

"I'm not lying."

The little bastard was smirking right in Kakarot's face, but he was calm. He seemed too calm for someone who was lying. Guldo was never one known for keeping his cool in the first place. But it was impossible. The Earthlings were extinct.

"Guldo," Kakarot growled.

"It's true."

Kakarot snapped his gaze toward the new voice to find the bartender. He was wiping the inside of the glass held in his wrinkled pink hand with his beady red eyes focused on Kakarot.

"What'd you say?" Kakarot asked.

"They were Earthlings," said the bartender. Her and the man she came in here with."

He set his cleaned glass on the counter and tossed the damp rag over his shoulder before setting his hands on the bar. His eyes pierced into Kakarot's questioning gaze with a calm, authoritative aura. The Ginyus were watching the bartender as well, remaining silent.

"You can check the record if you like, Saiyan," the bartender added, waving a hand toward a device hovering over his bar's entryway. "My system IDs all races at the door to keep the undesirables out. That woman registered Earthling."

It _was_ true. Kakarot felt his heart drop into his stomach. They really had survived, and even worse, he'd _had_ them. One of the Earthlings was literally right under his fingers. He'd even penetrated her- only with the wrong weapon. He shook his head at the stunning realization.

Kakarot wouldn't repeat this mistake again. He refused to be mocked for a fool for this oversight, but it was already happening. This was just like when he was a child. If he'd killed these Earthlings back then, his life could've been different. The only thing positive about the Earthlings' survival no longer being in question was Kakarot's second chance to correct his mistake. He wouldn't fail this time.

Kakarot could hear the Ginyu Force members snickering, particularly Burter, whose foul breath batted at his ear. Gritting his teeth, Kakarot practically spat his rage at the mockery while the others in front of him wore smirks to match Burter's attitude. He could only stand to ignore the Ginyus for so long, and now Burter's invasion of his space had pushed Kakarot past his limit.

In a flash, Burter's grating snickers and harsh breath were gone. Kakarot's knuckles throbbed sweetly while the crash at the back of the room rang like music through his ears. He ignored the gasps and shouts of indignation from the others as he moved for the door. Let them try and stop him. He had Earthlings to chase.

"Nobody follow me," Kakarot said.

He pulled the door with such force that it tore from its hinges. He tossed it behind him, adding to the rubble pile from Burter's crash. Hopefully, it hit Burter. But Kakarot wasn't turning to look. He would be pushing his luck to stick around a second longer. He needed to take off immediately. He knew better than to trust the Ginyu Force to heed his warning.

* * *

In his room, Kakarot gathered his belongings in a flurry of movement. The Ginyu Force would want to retaliate for that little stunt. Someday, he'd have to learn to control his impulses. For now, he just needed to get his ass off this planet as quickly as possible. If the Earthlings had launched, as he suspected, they were already too far ahead of him.

"Kakarot!" Arsnip's voice came from his open doorway. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving."

"For our next assignment, _right?_ "

Kakarot swept his things into his arms, not caring about the soft items that slipped out of his fingers. With a look, he told Arsnip he was _not_ going to purge with the rest of them this time. Then he brushed past Arsnip, out the door.

"Kakarot! Get back here and talk to me, you disrespectful bastard!"

With a terse shake of his head, Kakarot marched onward. He was breaking Lord Frieza's rules handed down by their king. He knew the others would be pissed. But he didn't need to hear it.

"I just saw Jeice! He was looking for you. He told me about the Earthlings."

Kakarot raised his chin sharply, muttering a curse. It was starting already. He needed to get to those Earthlings. He powered ahead again, his determination intensifying.

"Kakarot," Arsnip called in a growling crescendo. "You can't go chasing after those Earthlings! We have Lord Frieza's purges to complete!"

"If Lord Frieza asks," Kakarot said, continuing to power forward with Arsnip in tow. "Tell him those purges are going to have to wait."

"Wait?" Arsnip sputtered. "Are you out of your mind?"

Kakarot shrugged. "Then do it without me."

"Damn right we will. You're a blasted lunatic, Kakarot." The sounds of Arsnip's pursuing footsteps abruptly halted before heading the other direction.

"Maybe," Kakarot muttered under his breath, before a smile pulled at his lip. "But I'm still fulfilling Frieza's orders. Just older ones."

Orders that were long overdue. Kakarot was itching to end this.


	5. Pursuit

Chi-Chi emerged from her room hours later and walked into the hall with her arms folded over her chest and her eyelids drooping. Everything seemed to be in a haze. The brightness of the ship's overhead lighting felt like an ethereal glow cast over everything around her. Even though Chi-Chi's mind was fuzzy, she knew the moment she stepped out of the quiet hall and emerged onto the bridge, unwanted attention would be on her.

"Chi-Chi..." her father said the moment she rounded past the silver wall to spy the open bridge.

His brown eyes sparked at the sight of her as Dr. Brief spun around in his chair by his side. Between the two men, an open book covered the table. Master Roshi's and Puar's eyes lifted from the other side of the table, issuing Chi-Chi looks of concern. Turtle looked Chi-Chi's way as well, from Bulma's feet at the control center, where Chi-Chi saw the back of Bulma's blue head of hair. By the subtle lift of her friend's chin, Chi-Chi could tell Bulma was well-aware of her entrance into the bridge. As Oolong strolled in from the opposite hall, Chi-Chi noted two faces missing.

"Where…are Yamcha and Mrs. Brief?" she asked as she uncrossed her arms to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"My wife is mending a hole in one of Yamcha's shirts," Dr. Brief said. "She wanted to show him how she sews."

A growl pulled Chi-Chi's gaze to the control console, where Bulma's head shook vigorously. Frowning, Chi-Chi found herself walking toward the control console, her first impulse to comfort her friend rather than worry about her own situation. Chi-Chi knew how Bulma's mom could be, and as she overheard the mutterings flowing from Bulma's lips, she nodded. It was a good thing Yamcha was such an honest boyfriend. Mrs. Brief was a very attractive woman for her age, but Yamcha would never betray Bulma. However, Chi-Chi could understand Bulma's irrational jealousy over her mother's flirtation. Chi-Chi knew she was likely to react the same way if -

No. She wouldn't think about _him_. She didn't care about _him_.

"Bulma."

"Can you believe her?" Bulma said, her glare fixed straight ahead until Chi-Chi took the swivel seat beside her, prompting Bulma to look her way. "Her husband is _right there_ and Yamcha's half her age."

"Not to mention her daughter's boyfriend."

"Ye-" Bulma's eyes went wide. "Yamcha..."

As tears gathered at the corners of Bulma's eyes, Chi-Chi drew her in for a hug, shaking her head. "You _know_ Yamcha, Bulma. And in spite of how your mom acts, you know she's not doing it to hurt you."

"I know," Bulma said as she pressed her face into Chi-Chi's shoulder and dug her fingers into Chi-Chi's shirt. "Ugh, I think I'm just on edge because of _you_."

"Me?" Chi-Chi recoiled, meeting Bulma's knowing eyes with a scowl. "There's nothing going on with me."

"You _know_ that's not true," Bulma said, spinning toward the controls when an alarm sounded overhead. "I'll get it from you soon enough."

Chi-Chi's eyes darted to the message appearing on the holographic screen. "What is it?"

"Tukee. We're here."

"Good," Master Roshi said. "I'll get Yamcha."

Before he finished rising from his squeaking chair, Yamcha appeared from the hall. His eyes met Master Roshi's, followed his gaze to the holographic destination mapped on the screen, and landed on Chi-Chi. "You ready for this?"

As Chi-Chi pressed her lips together and nodded, knowing this mission was a difficulty she'd have to endure, Bulma rose from her seat. "I'm coming with you."

"Bulma?"

"I've read up on the locals and I know how we can blend in. There'll be no need for fighting. They're humanoid enough," Bulma said with a lilt of her shoulder. "As long as the three of us keep our heads covered at all times, we're gold. And you two won't even need the PTO armor for this one. Let's go find this Saiyan."

* * *

Chi-Chi was relieved to be free of the stiff PTO armor for a change. With her long dress drifting in the wind, her robes layered over it covering the top of her head and sides of her face, her pockets heavy with supplies, she was comfortable. She wished all excursions off the ship could be like this one. The people of Planet Tukee looked exactly as Bulma had claimed they would. Chi-Chi almost would've thought she was on Earth in a village similar to the one she knew on Mt. Frypan. It was slightly more populated, with only the occasional standout alien race in the crowd. A peek of purple skin or PTO armor here and there reminded Chi-Chi to keep her guard up at all times. This might've felt like home, but it wasn't a friendly market. No place in the universe was friendly toward a small band of endangered Earthlings.

"Now that Yamcha's gone off to scour the outskirts of this market, Chi-Chi," Bulma said with a nod toward where Yamcha had parted from them as she tucked her red shawl more firmly around her chin, "I want to talk to you about men."

"Men?" Chi-Chi scoffed, her eyes bouncing from face to face in the crowd, searching for height, black hair, and hard features. "Bulma, right now the only man I care about is Brolly."

"That's not true. First of all, I have to get this off my chest. Is Yamcha really not attracted to anyone else?"

"Bulma, we've been over this. Yamcha was scared stiff of you until you finally made the first move. What makes you think he'd be able to put the moves on anyone else? You know, all he wants is to settle down and marry."

Bulma beamed. "He told you that?"

Smiling, Chi-Chi nodded. The conversation had grown comfortable for Chi-Chi with the focus on Yamcha. Chi-Chi could tell Bulma all day about how much he cared for her. She wanted to see those two happy together.

"Good. Because if he ever betrays me, I'll cut off his balls."

"Bulma!"

"What? You'd do the same if you were in my shoes."

"Well I'm _not_ in your shoes," Chi-Chi grumbled, immediately regretting the bitterness of her words as they spilled from her mouth.

"You're right," Bulma said as she stopped at a rickety cart and let her eyes wander over the multicolored assortment of fruit for sale. "You're not in my shoes. What happened?"

"What happened where?" Chi-Chi said, her eyes following Bulma's to a ripe and juicy group of red fruit, reminiscent of strawberries. "We should stock up on these."

Bulma held a finger to the elder merchant with a stoic gaze fixed on them. "One batch of each fruit, please. Don't change the subject, Chi-Chi. You know I'll only broach it again."

"Can you just let it go? I had a bad night last night, okay?"

"Really? Doesn't strike me as a bad night as much as a _being bad_ night."

As the vendor bundled their fruits into a rustling canvas sack, Chi-Chi frowned at Bulma. Her lips remained sealed, though she couldn't stop the heat from rushing to her cheeks. Judging by the way Bulma smiled back at her, Bulma had caught the inconvenient betrayal of Chi-Chi's nervous system. Chi-Chi huffed. She couldn't go on through the rest of her life never talking about this. The guilt would eat away at her. Chi-Chi supposed there was no point in prolonging this any longer. At least in Bulma, she had a friend in whom she could confide. By confessing to Bulma, Chi-Chi knew she could free herself of the burden of her secret while trusting her shameful act to be kept in confidence, just between them.

As Bulma reached into the pockets of her red robes for a capsule, Chi-Chi handed the vendor international coin from the depths of _her_ pocket. Biting her lip, Bulma tossed the capsule. It landed beside the sack filled with a mound of fruit. A cloud of dust flew from the device as the fruit disappeared, now compressed into the capsule.

When Bulma bent over to retrieve the capsule, she shot the vendor a wink. "Thanks, bud."

The vendor grunted as Chi-Chi gave him a bow and turned away. Again, her eyes purveyed the market, searching the crowd for Brolly's unusual height which was sure to stick out in this setting. No one she could see here seemed any taller than Yamcha.

"So who was he?"

Chi-Chi blinked, not fully registering the weight of Bulma's words. "Who?"

"The man," Bulma groaned. "Or...woman...or…whatever. Are you embarrassed about who it is? I won't judge you if you hooked up with someone with three horns or something. It's not like you've got a lot of options to work with out here, Chi-Chi."

"Bulma!"

Chi-Chi gasped, her eyes turning on Bulma's impassive expression. As Bulma raised a brow, Chi-Chi shook her head. She couldn't spit it out, even if Bulma was prepared to suspend judgement. Chi-Chi would rather confess she'd hooked up with some pustuled, fang-toothed oaf than the incredibly handsome murdering scum with whom she _had_ hooked up.

"I mean, I'd prefer to hear about a well-muscled hunk with a nice ass, but-"

"I thought I could talk about this with you, Bulma, but I can't!"

As Chi-Chi turned, whipping her scarf-wrapped head the other way, feeling her nerves rattle at the reminder of the Saiyan's smooth and muscular ass, Bulma gasped. "He _was_ a handsome man! Oh, Chi-Chi, now you have to tell me."

Bulma's hands seized Chi-Chi's, drawing Chi-Chi closer. Chi-Chi searched Bulma's blue eyes, hoping to find some indication of relenting, but Bulma's eyes held firm, her smile solid, her grip around Chi-Chi's hands strong. Chi-Chi grunted.

"Come on, Cheech. He can't be _that_ bad."

Chi-Chi ripped her hands from Bulma's. "He was a _Saiyan_ , Bulma!"

Chi-Chi turned her back on Bulma and held her hands over her face. She didn't want to see Bulma's reaction. As her chest heaved and her palms trembled against her cheeks, Chi-Chi took a calming breath. It was out. There was no turning back now.

"A Saiyan? Chi-Chi, how could-"

"I didn't _know_ , Bulma!" Chi-Chi said as she peeled her hands from her burning cheeks to whirl on her friend. "He – he didn't give me a name! He didn't even have a tail!"

"But…a _Saiyan_?"

"Bulma, you said you wouldn't judge."

Bulma seized Chi-Chi by the shoulders, something in her eyes twinkling. "Just tell me - did you sleep with him?"

Chi-Chi groaned. "Bulma."

"You did!" Bulma drew Chi-Chi into a crushing hug, bouncing on her heels. Chi-Chi's eyes bulged while she endured every tremulous movement. "Oh my _gosh_ , Chi-Chi this is such a big deal! I'm so happy for you!"

"You – _what_?"

"Honestly," Bulma said as she pulled away, beaming at Chi-Chi, "I didn't think it would ever happen for you. And a _Saiyan_. Chi-Chi, I've caught glimpses of naked Saiyan men and they are nothing short of marvelous in that department."

"Bulma! These are murderers you're talking about!"

"I wouldn't mind getting in bed with a scoundrel," Bulma said with a considerate gaze toward the sky, "if he was hot enough to make me forget he was a killer."

Chi-Chi crossed her arms. "I never said he was hot."

"Come on, Chi-Chi. You practically admitted it." Bulma groaned before concealing her wide smile behind a cupped hand. "What _did_ he look like exactly?"

"Bulma, for all I know, he could be the same Saiyan who killed the people back on Earth - who nearly killed _us_! When I think about what that monster did to our planet, it makes me sick to my stomach, thinking I could've slept with him."

"Chi-Chi, the odds of him being that _one_ Saiyan of the hundreds that are out there would be less than a thousand to one."

"The one on Earth was a boy about our age, and he called himself Kakarot on that media coverage they used to play, right?" Chi-Chi said as Bulma furrowed her brows and nodded. "Well this man looked my age and had similar hair and he refused to give me his name."

"So? I doubt he was protecting his name and there are _lots_ of Saiyans your age with weird hair. Kaka-whatever should think we're all dead, and if it was the case that this guy _was_ that same scumbag…he would've killed you instead of _pleasuring_ you."

"Bulma!" Chi-Chi bit her lip, her eyes darting to the watchful eyes of passerbys.

"Will you stop _Bulma_ -ing me?" Bulma said with a wave of her hand. "You did something for yourself, Chi-Chi. There's nothing wrong with owning up to it. You're a woman now. You have needs."

"Needs for a psychopathic alien without a shred of moral decency, apparently," Chi-Chi muttered.

"When did you realize it?"

"Huh?"

"When did you realize he was a Saiyan?" Bulma asked, cocking her head.

"Um...well...obviously _after_." As Bulma cast Chi-Chi a withering glare, Chi-Chi sighed. "In the morning, I saw - I saw the scar where his tail would've been."

" _Oh_ ," Bulma said, wiggling her brows. "I see. Checking out the goods for another round, huh?" Bulma blinked, her eyes going wide. "Wait. What did he say to you the morning after? How did you get out of there, Chi-Chi?"

"He didn't say anything. I left while he was asleep."

"Oh, good," Bulma sighed. "So he didn't see our ship?"

"No."

"And you're sure he doesn't know you're an Earthling? He doesn't know where we're headed?"

"He doesn't even know my name, Bulma."

Bulma sighed. "Good."

Chi-Chi put her hands on her hips, narrowing her brows. "Oh _now_ you're worried?"

"Well I mean," Bulma said, crossing her arms, "the sex talk took precedence, but now...yeah, him following you and wanting to murder us _is_ a concern."

With a groan, Chi-Chi turned away from Bulma. Her eyes sought the faces in the crowd again. There had to be some trace of Brolly somewhere on this painful reminder of a planet. Yamcha's intel couldn't have led them here for nothing. Unless he really _did_ acquire it from an unreliable source, like Oolong suggested. As Chi-Chi's eyes skimmed across the crowd, picking out faces inconveniently similar to Saiyans and therefore harder to decipher from the one she wanted to find, she chewed her bottom lip, hoping Bulma wouldn't mention another word on this topic. Across the market alleyway, beyond people crossing the path to and fro, Chi-Chi spotted a face that looked familiar. It wasn't Brolly, but she had a feeling he was a person of interest. Furrowing her brows, Chi-Chi reached into her robes and pulled out the small electronic device carried by all three members of their search party. She swiped her finger down the screen, scrolling through the information.

"If you ever have another chance with him, Chi-Chi," Bulma said, "I mean hypothetically, if he wasn't a savage warrior likely to kill you, would you go another round with the guy?"

"No."

"Really? Was he as hot as Yamcha?"

"Bulma."

"I mean if-"

"Shh!" Chi-Chi set her eyes on the older man standing at a vendor cart straight ahead.

He wore a white robe draped over his broad shoulders, over his head, and bundled around his neck. Chi-Chi spied his black widows peak as his forehead tilted forward and back, the robe sliding back on his head. From the angle of his profile, seeing only one eye shrouded in shadows, Chi-Chi couldn't be sure, but as her tablet's file pulled up the person she suspected, the square-jawed man _looked_ like a match.

When he turned to reveal the symmetry of his mustache and the scar over his left eye deforming the other half of his face, Chi-Chi gasped. "It's him."

"Brolly?" Bulma looked past Chi-Chi, eyes wide and vigilant.

"No, not Brolly." Chi-Chi raised the tablet in Bulma's face, careful to keep her own eyes fixed on her target. "His father, Paragus."

Bulma hummed as she read through the information on the table with Paragus' picture. "Last person seen in the company of Brolly. Chi-Chi," Bulma said as Chi-Chi tucked the tablet beneath her robes, "let's get closer! I don't want to lose him."

With a frown, Chi-Chi nodded and allowed Bulma to weave through the crowd ahead of her, pulling out her own tablet and tapping away at the device as she moved. Chi-Chi followed, reluctant to place herself in such close proximity with another Saiyan so soon. Unlike the one with whom she'd been intimately acquainted, this one _looked_ like an evil bastard ready to rip their spines out if they angered him in any way.

"He seems to know the vendors here," Bulma called over her shoulder.

Chi-Chi reached Bulma's side, cocking her head at the transaction occurring at the cart. Paragus was locked into conversation with a vendor selling wares from what looked like a cart of cooking pans and other metallic items. Perhaps the middle-aged local was a blacksmith of some sort. But the vendor _did_ seem familiar with Paragus, and not in a friendly way.

When Paragus lunged forward, offering the vendor a gloved fist with one hand as he tore a metal box from the display and raised it in the air with the other hand, Chi-Chi recoiled, wrapping Bulma in her arms. Bulma's arms returned the comfort, soothing Chi-Chi, but Chi-Chi's knees still quivered as the Saiyan let out a gruff yell, causing Bulma to whimper in Chi-Chi's ear.

Paragus' fist held just short of connecting with the vendor's chin. As the vendor raised his chin and bit his lip, Paragus growled through clenched teeth. "I'll be taking this. Got a problem with that, Vas?"

"N-n-n-no," the vendor said as sweat trickled down his brow.

Paragus pulled back, letting his fist fall to his side as he hefted the metal box beneath the crook of his arm. The vendor stumbled back, his robes falling off his head as it tipped backward, revealing to Bulma and Chi-Chi a pair of blunt horns poking from his head of purple hair. Chi-Chi gasped. _That_ was why Bulma told them to cover their heads. She gave an appreciative squeeze to her friend still tangled in her arms.

The moment Paragus turned away, Bulma released Chi-Chi. "We need to follow him."

With a grunt and nod, Chi-Chi darted forward, not even waiting for Bulma to lead the way this time. She followed Paragus' taller head through the crowd. The bobbing white of his robes moved quickly, but Chi-Chi wasn't going to lose him. However, as she looked beyond Paragus, she could see the crowd thinning out, and she could guess his destination. A parking bay was up ahead. Several aircars sat docked and ready.

"He's leaving," Chi-Chi said.

"I'm calling Yamcha."

"Good idea."

"Yamcha," Bulma said into her communicator, huffing with Chi-Chi as they raced and shoved their way through the market, "we've got a lead. I'm going to need you to track a vehicle."

As Bulma barked orders at Yamcha, Chi-Chi watched Paragus jump a small fence. He threw off his robes, which flapped in the wind. As they fell over the fence pole in a heap of white, Paragus was already flinging open the door of a dilapidated-looking aircar.

"He's leaving, Bulma!"

"He's leaving the market now!" Bulma said, securing her shawl in a tight fist and nodding at Chi-Chi. "You got that, Yamcha? Let me know when you spot Brolly. I'll ready the ship for leading them off this planet."

"Bulma," Chi-Chi said with a cock of her head as wind whipped at her face and the engine noise of Paragus' ship roared through the air. "If Brolly _is_ here with him and no one's found them so far, how are we going to make them leave?"

As the aircar zoomed over their heads, its Saiyan driver ignorant of their presence and pursuit, Chi-Chi cinched her flapping shawl snug around her face. Bulma's face was buried in her tablet, the gears in her mind working so furiously that Chi-Chi could practically see steam shooting from Bulma's covered ears as Bulma shushed her.

With a harrumph, Chi-Chi crossed her arms and tapped her foot. She listened to the ambient noise from the market as she waited for Bulma to acknowledge her question. Maybe Yamcha would report to them before that even happened, with how entranced in her concentration Bulma seemed to be.

"Planet Pzaa," Bulma said before she pried her eyes from the device to meet Chi-Chi's gaze. "Did you ask me a question, Chi-Chi?"

Chi-Chi kicked up a clump of soil with the toe of her boot. " _Yes_ , I did! How do you suggest we lure Brolly off Tukee to somewhere less populated, Bulma?"

"It would've been easier if I were single. Yamcha wouldn't like it too much if I use my feminine wiles to lure him out of here. And _you_ , having this thing against Saiyans-"

" _Hey,"_ a deep voice tainted by static sounded in Chi-Chi's earpiece, alerting them both as Bulma's eyes went wide. _"Chi-Chi's not wrong. Saiyans are assholes. And we've found two of them here on Tukee, readying their ship for takeoff."_

"Yamcha," Bulma said with a grimace.

" _I'll meet you back at the ship."_

Exchanging a frown with Bulma, Chi-Chi reached into her robes for a transportation capsule. As great as it was that everything was going according to plan so far, Chi-Chi didn't foresee the return to the ship being any sort of pleasure trip. Yamcha wasn't going to be happy with Bulma after overhearing that casual comment about Bulma's use of feminine wiles. Of course Chi-Chi knew Bulma didn't mean anything by it, but Bulma and Yamcha did get into it when they had their rare disagreements. Maybe if Chi-Chi directed their attention toward the urgency of the issue at hand, she could avoid getting in the middle of this one. Chi-Chi tossed the capsule to the ground.

As the capsule exploded, kicking up dirt, Bulma's frown turned to a grimace. She marched to the driver's side of the newly appeared beaten-down hovercar they'd stolen a few missions back, and cast Chi-Chi a glare. "Get in."

Sighing, Chi-Chi opened the passenger-side door. "You're not going to start a big discussion when we get back, are you?"

"Get in the car, Chi-Chi."

Chi-Chi grit her teeth as she slid into her seat, plopping into the chair as she slammed her door. "We have bigger issues at stake here, so your drama with Yamcha is going to _have to wait_!"

The engine shot to life, surging them forward so fast Chi-Chi felt like she was going to fly out the back of the car. She clenched the dashboard for dear life while Bulma turned them in the air, pinning Chi-Chi to her door as their direction shifted toward their docked and concealed ship. As they raced forward, Chi-Chi noted the determined glare on Bulma's face. She was leaned forward in an aggressive posture, clenching the steering wheel. This return wasn't going to be pretty.

A voice sounded in Chi-Chi's ear again, this time Master Roshi's voice. _"Can I just say I'm on Bulma's side here? She makes a very good point. Why, if I could get my hands on one of those Saiyan women-"_

"Shut up!" Chi-Chi yelled before pushing through her shawl to end communication with the ship.

Cutting off communication usually wouldn't be a bright move, but Bulma was with her and had _her_ communicator. There was more danger due to come to the old man when they returned if Chi-Chi _didn't_ shut him up. She just did the old pervert a favor.

"Hurry?" Bulma said, responding to something Chi-Chi had missed on the communication she just ended. "We're going as fast as we can!" She ended communication with the press of a finger and turned her eyes on Chi-Chi. "I lured Brolly to Planet Pzaa by claiming Prince Vegeta's there alone."

Chi-Chi blinked. "What?"

Bulma's narrowed eyes remained fixed on the desert sand trail. "Brolly's heading there to kill him."

"How do you know that's where he's going?"

"He's leaving in an awful hurry. And don't _all_ Saiyans want to fight the best and the strongest? They're brainless brutes, remember?"

Chi-Chi frowned. Her mind turned to the man from last night, against her will. He _could_ be described as a brainless brute, she supposed. She'd never been impressed by the intelligence of any of them. And after looking through Brolly and Paragus' files, she'd have to say their past data proved exactly what Bulma just claimed. Plus…the prince was a hefty challenge. Good bait. Excellent bait for Brolly.

"Brolly would go for it even if he _wasn't_ fighting-obsessed," Chi-Chi said with a shrug, "since the Saiyan royal family has a bounty on his head."

Bulma turned to Chi-Chi, reaching into her robes. "Here, take the wheel."

The ship descended in a gut-wrenching drop. As it bobbed upward, Chi-Chi lunged across the seat to stretch across Bulma and grab the spinning wheel while Bulma fumbled through her pockets. Growling, Chi-Chi struggled to maintain the balance of the aircar as it wobbled side to side.

"Bulma," Chi-Chi growled. "What are you doing?"

"I intercepted Paragus' communication signal when we were following him to send him that message about Prince Vegeta," Bulma said, tapping at her device. "I'm confirming now that he received my anonymous tip. Plus I'm sending our ship the coordinates for Pzaa so we can follow."

As they sped forward, their yellow CC-labeled ship came into view from beyond some seaweed-like hedges vacillating in the sky. Chi-Chi screamed as it drew nearer at an incredible speed. She wasn't going to be able to maneuver landing their aircar from the passenger seat. "Bulma!"

"He bought it!" Bulma said, a victorious grin crossing her face as she pocketed the device and grabbed the wheel. "So easy to fool those morons. Ship's ready to go."

When they pulled into the open hatch of the ship, Master Roshi and Yamcha were awaiting their arrival. The ship was more ready to go than Chi-Chi or Bulma expected. The engines were already started, the hatch closing behind them before their air car hit the bay. Chi-Chi frowned, furrowing her brows at the anxious faces on both men waving them forward. Their aircar landed with a hard thump. Chi-Chi frowned as she climbed out the door. Something wasn't right. Without explanation, Chi-Chi and Bulma raced up to Yamcha and Master Roshi.

"Hurry, girls," Master Roshi said.

Yamcha placed his hands on Bulma and Chi-Chi's backs and ushered them toward the bridge with Master Roshi right behind them. "We're taking off."

"Already?" Bulma asked.

"What happened?" Chi-Chi said.

"Cui happened," Yamcha said.

"We've intercepted his communication to King Vegeta," Master Roshi said as the hatch's airlocks hissed behind them with a tight seal. "His ship is on its way _here_. He's the one who picked up Brolly's bounty, apparently."

As they rounded the corner from the docking bay into the bridge, Yamcha crossed his arms and raised his chin toward the holographic screen. "And he's not the only one heading this way."

The starry constellations above flashed a red light for their current location, Tukee. Inching toward it was a smaller flashing blue dot, followed by an identical one not far behind it. Chi-Chi furrowed her brows as her eyes darted to the controls. She wanted to enlarge the data, to know exactly to whom those ships belonged. She first saw that Yamcha and Master Roshi were right - the nearest ship _was_ the one known throughout the universe as part of Lord Frieza's fleet, belonging to Cui, a famously feared soldier of the PTO. She switched to the other one.

As specs for a third class base model ship appeared on the screen, Master Roshi hummed and stroked his beard. "The other one appears to be a Saiyan ship."

"What?" Bulma gasped, shooting Chi-Chi a glance. "You - you think-"

Master Roshi shook his head. "Saiyans don't take bounties. They follow missions. They have orders. Tukee isn't on the purge list, though."

Yamcha snorted. "Yeah. It's a matter of _pride_ for them, apparently, never failing to complete their orders. It's why Frieza keeps them so busy – to keep them from being trouble for him."

"What I want to know is," Dr. Brief said from across the bridge, "why a Saiyan ship would follow us."

Bulma giggled nervously. "You – you think it's following _us_ , Dad?"

Chi-Chi grimaced. She felt her hands grow sweaty as she wrung them together, backing away from the console and center of attention. If it was following _them_ , after where she'd just come from – _no_. It couldn't be him. She'd left without leaving the slightest hint of who she was. She'd left before he'd risen from the bed. All he knew was-

Chi-Chi gasped. All he knew was that she was looking for Brolly.

The bastard had withheld information from her. He could've easily known Brolly. Of course! He was Saiyan! All Saiyans knew where to find other Saiyans, didn't they? Wait, no, Brolly was in hiding on Tukee. He and Paragus would make sure no one knew where to find them, if they valued their lives. But somehow Cui had known where to find Brolly, so maybe the Saiyan from the bar knew, too. Chi-Chi was so confused. She held her face in her hands, shaking her head as her fingers threaded through her bangs.

Yamcha scowled. "If the Saiyan ship isn't here for Brolly or a purge, it must be on its way to Tukee for something else, right?"

Dr. Brief frowned, exchanging a glance with Mrs. Brief, who offered him a smile. "Tukee _is_ a trading post with many resources."

"That must be it," Chi-Chi said quickly, shooting Bulma a glare as her friend opened her mouth with a guilty look in her eyes. "We need to focus on Brolly."

Bulma frowned at Chi-Chi, but turned her attention on the screen with a huff. "The good news is, we're the only ones who know Brolly is leaving for Pzaa. That should buy us the time we need to destroy the planet with Brolly on it before Cui realizes where Brolly's gone."

Oolong stepped forward, rubbing his chin as his wary eyes looked up to Bulma. "You really think we'll be able to pull this off?"

Chi-Chi grunted. "We have to. Brolly and Paragus have to die so we can collect that damn bounty and buy the supplies to get to Namek. We've got to collect before Cui or the Saiyan try to claim responsibility."

Bulma's eyes lit. "That's it! We're going to have to prove it was _our_ kill, of course. Can't expect to take them all out."

"What?" Oolong said. "Bulma, what are you talking about?"

Bulma sank gracefully into the chair at the white table centered in the bridge, letting it spin under her weight. "We have to give Brolly and Paragus some time to settle in on Pzaa before we blow the planet."

"Time?" Chi-Chi blinked before exchanging a glance with Yamcha, who looked as clueless as she felt. "Time for what?"

"I thought we were in a hurry," Yamcha complained.

"We will be," Bulma said, narrowing her eyes. "Ready the ship and our weapons so we can move when the time comes. I'm going to need those ki-bombs and guards ready to go, Master Roshi."

Yamcha gasped. "You think they're both ready?"

"Ready as they'll ever be, judging by the last test," Dr. Brief said. "I can't wait to see how they work."

Master Roshi grunted. "I'll get them ready. We all need to pull our weight if we're going to make this plan work, for the sake of everyone we left behind."

The ship zoomed toward the atmospheric white rim of gases surrounding Tukee, following in the wake of the Saiyan ship launched into space just ahead of them. They wouldn't follow Brolly and Paragus too closely, but they had to stay close enough to trap them when they landed on Pzaa. Chi-Chi knew Bulma had the flying under control. Chi-Chi only needed to change into her dreaded armor and prepare to do her part on Pzaa – for which she was more than ready.

Chi-Chi clenched her jaw as she swore to herself aloud, "We will. We'll make the plan work."


	6. Realization

Kakarot had expected to have some difficulty following Chi-Chi's ship after giving the girl such a broad head start, but he'd been pleasantly surprised after launching into space. Through the blackness surrounding the planet he'd just left, he was quickly able to spot a ship in the distance. Its yellow surface shone in the light burning off its nearest stars. Willing to bet it was Chi-Chi's ship, Kakarot set his ship to track it and followed for a long, comfortable ride in his space pod. He'd spent more hours of his life inside this cramped space than any other location. It had become like a second skin to him, even though it hadn't always been with him. His first space pod, in which he'd journeyed to Earth, had been destroyed on a dangerous mission around the age of fifteen. Still, this one fit him even better and would serve just as well on his second attempt to destroy these pests threatening his reputation. With his arms crossed, legs parted and knees pressed against the rounded pod's padded walls, Kakarot could look out the tiny window. He could gaze at the beauty of twinkling stars and distant constellations, or close his eyes and meditate until his ship notified him of his destination, as it did now.

 _"Wake up, Kakarot."_

Kakarot opened his eyes with a growl. "I'm not _sleeping_."

 _"Planet Tukee, five minutes to landing."_

"Hm, is that where they're heading?" Kakarot peered lower to see the atmospheric rusty glow of the planet just below the line of his window, its beauty blemished by the dark shadow of a larger spacecraft than the one he'd followed. "Is that - that ship-"

 _"Commander Cui, Kakarot."_

"No," Kakarot breathed.

 _"You have a transmission. Do you wish to accept?"_

Kakarot scratched his neck, wishing instantly to refuse. Any transmission coming to him now couldn't be good news, regardless of from whom it was coming. But if it was Frieza or someone calling under Frieza's command, Kakarot's refusal to accept the call could endanger someone else back home. If the call was from the woman Chi-Chi, though he couldn't imagine how, some curious part of him was intrigued by the thought of hearing her voice.

 _"Kakarot, the communication has ended."_

Kakarot breathed a sigh. He'd waited too long to respond and therefore avoided conversation. This time, his scouter buzzed an incoming communication, vibrating against his temple. Before Kakarot could turn it off, a familiar, scathing voice was in his ear.

 _"Well, well,"_ Cui said. _"Kakarot. It is a surprise to see you following me here."_

"Cui," Kakarot growled through clenched teeth.

 _"You trying to steal my jobs now, Saiyan?"_

Kakarot laughed. "Back off, Cui. This is my kill. I have personal matters to settle with this target."

 _"I don't care. If you step foot on Tukee, I'll have no choice but to kill you."_

"Who do you think you're kidding? You'd _love_ an excuse to kill me."

 _"You're right,"_ Cui said. _"And need I remind you that I have a crew of warriors on my ship, while you're alone in that little attack pod?"_

Kakarot shrugged. "I work alone just fine."

He didn't know what Cui was carrying on about, feeling so threatened by his presence here. Cui couldn't have heard about the Earthlings, or even cared much about them if he had. Yet he was following in their wake, getting very territorial about this pursuit.

 _"Some big talk,"_ Cui said, _"for a third class Saiyan who can't even finish off one lousy class three planet."_

Kakarot growled. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut about matters you know nothing about, Cui."

 _"You just better stay out of my way, scum. I'm killing Brolly."_

Kakarot's brows furrowed as the transmission ended, his scouter alerting him of the ceased communication with a soft beep. "Brolly?" he whispered.

He gasped. Cui was heading to Tukee not to kill Chi-Chi and her crew, but Brolly. Kakarot had almost forgotten about Chi-Chi's fixation on Brolly, but now he remembered. That explained it. The humans (if that was what they were) really were after Brolly. If Cui was after Brolly, that meant there was a bounty out on him. It wouldn't surprise Kakarot that King or Prince Vegeta ordered that hit, after all the gossip Kakarot used to hear of Brolly being the legendary Super Saiyan, possibly more powerful than the royal family. Those elites could be so jealous. Kakarot hadn't kept up with the latest news or gossip in a while, having been a topic of it for so long that he'd developed a distaste for it. It usually served him well not to care about anyone else's business. For all he knew, this bounty on Brolly's head could've been there for over a decade. Too bad for Brolly. The guy was always a crazed lunatic anyway – it wouldn't be a loss.

But _Earthlings_. Kakarot still couldn't believe they'd really survived. He'd done his job on Earth. He'd wiped every living creature off that planet. Maybe some had been off-planet before his purge began. He'd considered that in the past, but it didn't fit with their planet's technology, and the theory never eased his discomfort with their supposed survival. If that bartender was right, if the Ginyu Force was right and Chi-Chi and her crew really _were_ Earthlings, Kakarot needed an explanation of how they evaded him so impossibly. Then he would kill them. They were good as dead anyway, contending with Brolly and trying to compete with Cui for a kill. Those weaklings didn't have a chance or probably even realize what they were getting into. Kakarot had seen the strongest on Earth give it their best against him back then, and even if Earth's most extraordinary fighters were on that small ship, they still were no match for how much stronger Kakarot had become. They certainly weren't any match for Cui's crew or Brolly.

Leaning forward to admire the swirling, hazy reds and yellows of the atmospheric band surrounding Tukee, Kakarot tapped his finger on the armrest of his ship. He couldn't make sense of these people. He didn't understand. Maybe their plan to kill Brolly wasn't all that suicidal. If they pulled the same magic here they must have used if they really escaped his purge of the Earth, maybe they knew exactly what they were doing. But whatever that was, Kakarot hadn't the faintest idea. He pressed a finger to his lips curling into a smile. He was excited to confront Chi-Chi and her crew. Chi-Chi was turning out to be an even more impressive woman than the Saiyan he'd first thought he met in the bar. She and her friends had a lot more nerve than Kakarot ever would've expected of weaklings, human or not.

As the grey rounded edges of Cui's ship obscured into the haze of Tukee's atmosphere, Kakarot huffed. While he was minutes from landing, Cui was miles ahead of him and would be arriving on Tukee in seconds. He might've been after a different quarry than Kakarot, but that wouldn't matter. If the other ship was after the same target as Cui, Chi-Chi's ship would cross paths with him and his crew before Kakarot had the chance to confront them. He ground his teeth, watching the distant ship become smaller and smaller, even as Kakarot sped toward the same destination.

As Kakarot growled under his breath, tempted to tug on the ends of his hair as every contemplation of means to keep the fate of these people in _his_ hands turned to expectations for failure, something caught his gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, so small in space and faraway he hardly saw it, a dark shadow smudged the beauty of Tukee's atmosphere. Kakarot blinked, wringing his fingers around the ends of his armrests as he leaned forward, as if moving within this tiny pod would grant him a better view of the ship. It had to be a ship. Nothing else would propel _from_ a planet, into the dead vacuum of space. As the ship turned, exposing its bare side to Kakarot's view, Kakarot pressed a button on his controls, switching on the magnified view of what lay ahead.

"That's interesting," Kakarot said as an image appeared on his small screen, a closer version of the ship sailing through the sea of colorful atmospheric gases. "It looks yellow…not like any PTO or Tukeean ship _I've_ ever seen."

 _"Unidentified,"_ his ship confirmed.

"Is that-?" He furrowed his brows as his eyes lit on the curved lines of a symbol stenciled in black on the side of the ship's hull, along with some sloppy scrawl below it. "No."

Kakarot fell back, his back hitting the seat's padding with a thump. He'd been able to deny it, up until now. As much as the Ginyu Force might've insisted, as much as the bartender might've had his evidence, as much as Kakarot went along with the suggestion, determined to track Chi-Chi down and kill her and her men, he hadn't really allowed himself to believe Earthlings were actually alive. But now, seeing that symbol he recognized from Earth, and the meaningful message only sentimental fools like humans would think to write on a ship, Kakarot could deny it no longer. The CC was clear as it had been in a planetary atmosphere, under a blue sky and bright sunlight. The message of Hope they scrawled beneath it would have to have been what they were feeling when they narrowly escaped him. With a growl, Kakarot kicked his console. The pod's metal and the electronic system groaned and beeped in a symphony of protest.  
 _  
"Prepare for landing, Kakarot."_

"Wait." Kakarot turned his gaze to follow the ship, only noticing now that it was following another, even further off than theirs and deeper into the dark void. "Abort landing."

As Kakarot hammered into his controls a new coordinate following the path of the _Hope_ ship, he felt the tug of Tukee's gravity, remiss to release him. His ship shifted and pulled before thrusting him into space, away from the planet which had lost its importance. Kakarot could guess whose ship the Earthlings were following. If Cui was heading to Tukee in search of Brolly, then Brolly _had_ been on that planet. Kakarot would be willing to bet the Earthlings had lured Brolly away from it for one reason or another. And now they were pursuing him elsewhere. Like everything else they did, he had no idea why. But he would find out once he met them.

Kakarot glanced over his shoulder, out his rear window where the atmosphere of Tukee was finally unobscured, beautiful in its roundness. Cui had landed. It wouldn't take him long to discover Brolly had abandoned the planet, but he would be too late by then. Kakarot would get to the humans first. He only needed to be careful of running into Brolly. That guy did _not_ like him.

As his thoughts filled with encountering the Earthlings at this new destination, Kakarot smirked. He sat back in his chair and relaxed, throwing his arms over his head for a comfortable stretch for the duration of his tracking. He didn't care whether the Earthlings saw him. There was nothing they could do to stop him, even if they had magical powers of some sort on their side. Space was his domain. They might've won on Earth, but they wouldn't win here.

 _"Wake up, Kakarot."_

"Dammit," Kakarot growled, his eyes darting to the side. "Do you _have to_ always say that?"

 _"Planet Pzaa, five minutes to landing."_

"Pzaa?" Kakarot sneered. "Isn't that the planet Toma's team just purged?"

 _"Completely purged, two days ago. Clear of life forms."_

Kakarot half-expected the computer system to mock him the way people always did in a moment such as this. When no further conversation followed, he thanked the fact that he was the only living thing in this pod at the moment.

Kakarot leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as Planet Pzaa's blue atmosphere came into view, straight ahead of Brolly's ship and the yellow Earth ship trailing it. "What are you up to, little humans? I can't imagine what you have planned now. Why chase Brolly to an abandoned planet?"

He watched the dark spec of Brolly's ship disappear into the atmosphere before the yellow ship was washed by the white glow protecting Pzaa, not from invaders, because they'd already been there and permeated its barriers, but from the elements from which an atmosphere _could_ protect. Kakarot tilted his head as he watched the small ship descend. It seemed to be swallowed up by the atmosphere as it proceeded forward, as if it was engulfed by a heavy fog and completely lost to Kakarot's sight. When Kakarot felt the tug of powerful gravity lurch his ship forward, he knew it was only a matter of moments.

He looked over his shoulder with a smile. "Too bad, Cui. Looks like this one's mine."

He gripped the arm rests as the ship started to vibrate, trembling with the increasing speed that would deliver him to ground. He was landing on the planet containing the last surviving Earthlings in the universe who had impossibly evaded him and marred his reputation all those years ago. It was them, Brolly, and Kakarot. They had no one to protect them.

Kakarot wasn't going to let them slip away a second time.

* * *

A/N: There were some questions on the last chapter about what it was that angered Kakarot, the mockery from the others or being deceived by Chi-Chi, and it was a little bit of both. It's all being conveyed through subtext, but in case it wasn't clear by the end of this chapter, I just wanted to put this out there. Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated and fuel me for new chapters


	7. Face To Face

He _couldn't_ be following them.

Chi-Chi didn't want to think about him when she had other issues to attend to, more important than some cruel bastard she'd slept with. But this was where her thoughts seemed to linger, obsessing about him since she'd returned fully dressed in her armor, to the bridge where everyone else was gearing up for finding Brolly on Pzaa. Chi-Chi thought she'd covered her tracks well enough. She'd left early. He wouldn't have known where to pursue her, let alone have any reason to. But someone was following her, and the likeliness that it was _him_ was eating away at her.

Chi-Chi berated herself for ever mentioning Brolly's name. That was the one slip up that might've clued him in to where to go. She worried the Saiyan might've known exactly where Brolly was throughout their entire interaction last night while he'd seduced Chi-Chi into his bed. He really had pushed those drinks on her, without which she never would have entertained his suggestion. And he had to be so damn handsome with that heartbreaking, irresistible smile. His ruse had seemed so genuine at the time. Now Chi-Chi knew his contagious smile was only the manipulative smile of an asshole.

Maybe the Saiyan woke up and decided to head for Brolly, knowing Chi-Chi would be destined for Tukee, though Chi-Chi didn't know why he would bother. Maybe it was to toy with her. He _did_ seem like the type to toy his with prey. Chi-Chi shivered before massaging her brow with agitated fingers. The stress of the what-if was overwhelming. If he was following them, and he caught up, not only would they all be in danger, but it would be Chi-Chi's fault if it happened. After everything they went through to save themselves from a Saiyan, they were going to be killed by one anyway. Fate was catching up to them.

"Maybe it's the same Saiyan from Earth." Dr. Brief's voice caught Chi-Chi's ear, pulling her back into the ongoing conversation with his alarming suggestion.

Mrs. Brief gasped, clapping a hand to her cheek. "You think he finally found us?"

"Who says he's been _looking_ for us?" Oolong said, crossing his arms and kicking his feet up on the white lacquer table.

"That's right," Master Roshi said. "He should've presumed us dead - if our wish worked."

"It worked," Yamcha said. "We're living proof of that."

"So why?" Ox King said with a glance at the holographic radar over which they'd been having this conversation since landing on Pzaa. "Why would any other Saiyan follow us here?"

"I don't know," Yamcha muttered. "I'm just glad Cui didn't catch on to us."

Puar's beady eyes bulged. "Yamcha! It _could_ be that same Saiyan. He _could_ figure out it was us!"

"What are you talking about, Puar?" Oolong said.

"Outside our ship," Puar said, "he can see it from space, right?"

As wide eyes filled the bridge, Oolong sputtered and pointed at Bulma. "You! You had to write that stupid inscription outside the ship, didn't you? Now look what you've done!"

" _Me_?" Bulma said as she bared her teeth at Oolong. "Why you little - what's wrong with having a little hope?"

"Puar's right," Master Roshi said, humming as he looked through his dark lenses at the blue blip moving toward their location on the screen. "But it isn't 'Hope' that the Saiyan would recognize."

"It's," Yamcha said with a gasp, "the CC logo."

"Shit," Bulma breathed, plopping into the chair by Chi-Chi's side. "Of course. He _saw_ Capsule Corp – right before he tore through West City."

"But," Yamcha said with a rub of his neck. "The chances of it being him-"

Chi-Chi's throat went dry, but she somehow managed to speak. "We - we have to - Brolly."

"Right," Master Roshi said with a nod. "We're wasting time."

"Stick to the plan," Bulma said. "Remember our end goal - Namek. We need to get there at any cost."

"Bulma's plan should work to take out this Saiyan and Paragus along _with_ Brolly," Master Roshi said. "So no need to worry ourselves over who's following us."

Yamcha nodded. "The bastard'll be dead soon enough, no matter who he is."

"Speaking of Brolly," Dr. Brief said, nodding toward the camera panning across their ship's surroundings, "there's the young fella now."

All eyes shot to the viewscreen discreetly located on the side of the control panel. Chi-Chi saw the rocky terrain of Pzaa's surface littered with the devastation of its recent purge. When Chi-Chi caught sight of a body - young and childlike, the green skin singed with burns, the eyes a hazy white - she clasped her hands over her eyes. Immediately, Yamcha's broad arms encircled her, drawing her back into his warmth and comfort before she sank too deep into the memory of what had been done on Earth. She could practically _feel_ the roar of a distant monster vibrating through her soul. The sight of the bodies surrounded by the ruins of Pzaa's crushed buildings had brought her back to that horrible time. It was only the gentle squeeze from Yamcha that pulled her back to the present.

"Just look for Brolly, Chi-Chi," Yamcha whispered.

With a settling breath, Chi-Chi pulled her hands away and set her eyes on the screen again. Careful not to let her eyes linger on the mutilated body she couldn't help noticing again, Chi-Chi found Brolly. Standing among the debris, beside a ship with steam jutting from the engine still hot from its journey, was the outrageously tall Saiyan she'd been seeking in Tukee's marketplace. They were so close. They just had to kill him now and get away before the pursuant Saiyan thwarted their plans and caused inescapable trouble.

"He's leaving the ship," Bulma said as Brolly turned to leave with another figure whose features were obscured by distance. Paragus. "Perfect. We need to move fast, guys. I think I should pilot Brolly's ship."

"Bulma," Chi-Chi said with a gasp, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do we _have_ to do this?" Oolong said. "I still can't understand what's wrong with blowing the planet from space."

"Brolly and Paragus might use their ship to escape, Oolong," Master Roshi said. "Just like Bulma said. The only way to ensure that won't be a problem is to take the ship first so they _can't_ escape the blast."

"I'm not willing to take any chances," Bulma said with a nod. "Chi-Chi and Yamcha might not know how to use the controls in there as well as I can. You guys are still a little weak on Saiyan readings."

"Who are you calling _weak_?" Chi-Chi asked with her hands on her hips.

"I'm just saying we can't risk wasting even a second. I need to be the one to do it. I'll do the honors of the detonation -right from their ship," Bulma said as she tossed a capsule in the air and caught it in her tightening fist.

"You're not going without me."

Bulma smiled at Chi-Chi. "I'm counting on that. Don't think I'd go this alone." She laughed. "I'm not crazy. I believe in self-preservation."

"I'm coming with you," Yamcha said, putting his hand on Bulma's shoulder.

"Thank you, Yamcha," Bulma said before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But no, you're not."

"What?"

"It's just me and Chi-Chi this time. We need you _here_."

"Bulma, you're going up against _Saiyans_ ," Yamcha said. "You don't even know how to fight!"

"The ship might be in danger if anything goes wrong," Bulma said. Chi-Chi saw Bulma try to hide a grimace. She knew Bulma didn't want to think of the plan going awry, but Bulma was always one to be prepared, and there was a very strong chance of failure here. "Stay with the ship, Yamcha. Protect it and everyone here. That has to be your first priority, because without the radar or our ship, we'll never be able to make this wish happen. I'll come back to you."

"Bulma," Yamcha breathed, meeting her gaze.

When Bulma cupped Yamcha's cheek in her palm and drew him in for a kiss, Chi-Chi turned away. Her eyes lit on Master Roshi down on his hands and knees, gawking up at the smooching couple like some crazy old coot, and Chi-Chi shook her head. When her eyes met her father's, Chi-Chi gulped. Every time she had to leave the others to do something dangerous, Chi-Chi was acutely aware of the fact that it could be her last time seeing them.

With her mother gone before Chi-Chi could remember and everyone else she knew back on Earth killed by that hateful Saiyan, her father had been all Chi-Chi had during the later purge years – _and_ when they left Earth. Now, this group had become her family. Her loving father and everyone else on this ship - a desert bandit and his furry comrade, a dirty old martial artist and his turtle, a shape-shifting pervert, a family including rich geniuses and ditzy women – they were Chi-Chi's family now, every one of them. With her previously tyrannical father, Chi-Chi fit right in with this motley crew making up the last of humanity. It was only the ironic coincidence of one rare possession linking them all together which had saved their lives all those years ago. Hopefully, this alternate set on Namek would do the same for the rest of humanity. They had to wish back those fallen on Earth, or at least die trying. The thought of those left behind enabled Chi-Chi to say goodbye to her father's weary, heartfelt look at times like this.

"Come on, Bulma," Chi-Chi said, narrowing her eyes as she tugged her friend's arm. "Let's steal that ship."

With a holler of surprise, Bulma stumbled out of Yamcha's arms to follow Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi kept a firm hold on her friend as she stormed to the hatch, which hissed with the release of the airlocks. She knew someone had opened it for them, clearly recognizing that Chi-Chi was in a no-nonsense mood.

When Chi-Chi marched out the door, Bulma was no longer behind her, but marching right alongside her. This might've been a scary endeavor for Bulma, but for both of them, this was the chance for action they'd been waiting over a decade to seize. Chi-Chi felt no fear as she crossed the threshold of the ship's hatch, into the chill of Pzaa's windless air. The stillness and quiet were unsettling. Chi-Chi paused when her boots hit the gravelly terrain with a crunch, which seemed to echo through the vast quiet which was plagued with the smells of fire and charred materials, but mostly rotting corpses.

Chi-Chi exhaled, trying not to breathe through her nose. "Let's do this as quickly as possible."

Bulma pinched her fingers over her nostrils. "You'd think they'd at leasd clead up after the job before deemeeg the purge fibished."

Shaking her head, Chi-Chi waved Bulma forward. "Come on. Brolly's ship is this way."

As they raced forward, the gravel crunching under their feet, Bulma's hand fell from her nose. She shot Chi-Chi a glance. "If the stench is this bad for _us_ , this must be torture for a Saiyan. It should work in our favor if we see Brolly."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Chi-Chi looked around and spotted the familiar landscape of Brolly's landing site they'd seen on the view screen. "We should slow down. We're closing in on Brolly's ship and our footsteps are too loud."

"Right," Bulma said as her feet drew to a halt. "Okay. Weapons."

Bulma's hands trembled as she pulled a capsule pack from the pocket of her puffy yellow vest. With a fluid movement, she selected a capsule and threw it to the ground. Chi-Chi cringed as it exploded open in a cloud of dust likely to draw attention if anyone was nearby. When the dust settled and the weapons stored within the capsule were revealed to them, Chi-Chi wasted no time stooping to grab the ray gun which had become a favorite of hers. She'd never learned to manipulate ki the way many of the strongest PTO soldiers did, but she'd become a master of weapons over the years - and she'd honed her strength well enough to hold her own against many ki-manipulating enemies. She felt comfortable with the ray gun in her grasp. She felt ready - perhaps moreso than she should prior to potentially facing an enemy as powerful as Brolly. She'd risk everything in order to take that ship from him and accomplish this goal.

Chi-Chi looked at Bulma, whose determined glare only further bolstered her confidence. They were going to do this. Chi-Chi could trust that Bulma wouldn't back down if things got rough, because Bulma knew she had Chi-Chi behind her. Chi-Chi wouldn't let Bulma fail to pilot that ship off this planet _without_ Brolly or Paragus onboard.

A loud eruption tore through the atmosphere, causing Chi-Chi to bend her knees and raise her hands, readying herself for an attack. When nothing came and the ground stopped shaking beneath her feet, she relaxed and exchanged a look with Bulma. Bulma looked alarmed with her eyes wide and mouth gaping. Something had happened. Chi-Chi didn't like this. Their ship could be in danger or Brolly could be coming back for them. They had no time to waste with stealth.

"Run!" Chi-Chi shouted.

Bulma sprinted forward, her handmade ki-bomb dropped strategically as she ran into a fissure torn through the earth by the recent purge. It looked like a deep enough crevasse Bulma had chosen. Chi-Chi _hoped_ it was as she ran past without hearing it hit bottom. Her heart pumped harder in her chest as she sprinted forward, determined to see Bulma safely to the ship. There was no sign of Brolly or Paragus. As they rounded past a jutting rocky cliff, the rounded silver edge of Brolly's ship came into view. Chi-Chi's breath caught in her lungs as she prepared to whoop a celebration, but it caught like a rock in her throat as she whirled toward the ship.

A figure stood at the ship's entrance, glaring at them. Bulma gasped as if her lungs hadn't captured air in a while as Chi-Chi seized her hand to stop her from moving any closer to the man. Bulma's feet flew out from under her as she swung toward Chi-Chi, whose jaw fell as she stared at their glaring roadblock.

"You," Chi-Chi breathed.

He was even more handsome than he'd looked last night as he shot her a smile. Chi-Chi grimaced at her first thought about seeing him here being _that_ , to her own surprise and disappointment. Chi-Chi's heart thudded in her chest as her mind raced, thinking how he could've beaten them to Brolly's ship. He _had_ followed her. He wasn't going to let them in Brolly's ship, either. Chi-Chi met Bulma's gaze. The understanding that crossed Bulma's blue eyes was a massive relief and painful to Chi-Chi at the same time.

Like Chi-Chi, Bulma knew it was _him_ , but she also knew this was the end of the line.


	8. Mission Accomplished

Kakarot smiled as Chi-Chi stood there with her female friend, trembling and clinging to her _as if_ she could save her from anything. Kakarot laughed. He knew he didn't have much time, because Brolly hadn't gone far, but _oh_ how he wished he could play with them. Unfortunately, he was going to have to make this quick - _after_ his questions were answered.

"Bulma," Chi-Chi whispered to the other one, not escaping Kakarot's hearing. "Get to the ship. I'll handle him."

"Chi-Chi, are you _crazy_?" The one she called Bulma said, echoing Kakarot's thoughts.

"Don't argue with me. There's no time!" Chi-Chi said as she pushed her friend aside, where Bulma could skirt around Kakarot to approach the ship. "We need to get Brolly's ship out of here before he comes back, or this is all for nothing!"

As the other human stumbled sideways and stared in awe at Chi-Chi's face set in an attractive glare, Kakarot cleared his throat. " _What_ is all for nothing?"

"What?" Bulma's gaze snapped to Kakarot as her hands clenched against her chest.

"What do you think you'll accomplish here?" Kakarot said with an air of conversation. "I wanna know."

The girls exchanged a glance, their eyes full of questions and doubt.

Kakarot scoffed. "Humor me. I could kill you now, so think of this as a way to buy yourselves time."

"We don't _have_ time," Chi-Chi said through clenched teeth as she raised her brows at Bulma.

Kakarot's eyes bulged when the other woman darted away with a nod. He didn't expect that move. He could easily intercept her, but Chi-Chi wasn't moving. The woman who'd laid with him on his bed a few nights ago glared back at him, looking formidable in her armor and intent on not running. Kakarot cocked his head as he took in her features. Without the darkness of the bar or the influence of the alcohol, she looked different. He could see clearly now that she wasn't Saiyan.

As the other woman disappeared behind him, diving into Brolly's open, abandoned ship, Kakarot raised his chin toward Chi-Chi. "Are you really an Earthling?"

Her dark eyes went wide as she inhaled sharply. "Why did you follow me?"

"So it's true?" he said, ignoring her question as he crossed his arms and studied her eyes for signs of the lie he wished to see in them, but knew he wouldn't.

"Y-yes, we all are," she said as behind Kakarot, engines roared to life. He could see the relief in Chi-Chi's eyes as waves of heat rolled against his back. "That's…why I left before you woke up. Now. Why did you follow me here?"

Kakarot smiled. She was bold enough to ask _him_ questions, even given her predicament. He rubbed his index finger beneath his nose as her eyes darted past him, watching the ship move. Kakarot didn't know why they wanted Brolly's ship - he was sure the bounty was for Brolly himself, not a worthless ship. Maybe they planned to use the ship for proof - Kakarot certainly wouldn't believe _they'd_ killed Brolly if they told him that. But that was just it - they couldn't. They were kidding themselves if they thought they could best Brolly in a fight, even with all of them working together. Kakarot felt the heat move against his back with the rising ship. He could stop it. But he wasn't interested in Bulma alone. He needed to kill all the humans, and he would before he left this planet. For now, he needed more answers from Chi-Chi. His eyes went wide when he heard _and_ felt the vibration of the ship's takeoff. It was louder than he'd expected it to be as it sputtered and roared. Wherever Brolly was, Kakarot was sure he felt it, too. His time was almost up with this woman, unless he wanted to directly confront Brolly, and no Saiyan was that stupid. Better to kill her himself and track down the rest of them before Brolly came along, without receiving his answers, though he would've really liked to know more about these mysterious Earthlings he had to kill twice. The memory of the first attempt's failure caused him to grit his teeth as fury rose to the forefront of his mind.

He narrowed his eyes, baring his teeth. "You have no idea what you've cost me."

" _I've_ cost _you_? What? By sleeping with you?"

"It's time you die!" Kakarot's power rose, picking up gravel around him, which levitated into the air with the glow of his power.

Before Kakarot could throw himself at her to plunge his fist into her gut again and again until her wails of pain would end, something knocked him off his feet. He was thrown sideways, crushed into a mountain. He vaguely noted the woman's screams beneath the pounding of his head. When Kakarot righted himself, yanking his head from the rock, he turned just in time to avoid Brolly's fist. As he dodged to the side and watched Brolly's fist smash the rock behind him, Kakarot gasped.

"My ship!" Brolly yelled, his eyes rolling back until Kakarot saw the whites of his eyes. He had that same maniacal look Kakarot remembered from every one of their childhood encounters.

Kakarot drew his fist back and planted it in Brolly's gut before Brolly could attack. He had to retract his fist, biting his lip as his knuckles throbbed. Hitting Brolly was like hitting an impenetrable wall.

Brolly's eyes darted to the ship disappearing into the atmosphere above before he threw himself at Kakarot, both hands extended and prepared to wring Kakarot's neck. Kakarot ducked out of Brolly's grasp, the other man's hands grazing his neck as he slid away from the rock.

"Go, Bulma! That's it! Keep going!" Chi-Chi yelled while Kakarot was pummeled in the kidney by another hit from Brolly's fist.

Brolly looked down at Chi-Chi cupping her hands to her face. "Who are these people working for you?"

"Brolly!" Kakarot shouted, grimacing as his back throbbed. "I'm not here for your stupid ship!"

"You're lying!"

As Brolly lunged at him again, Kakarot leapt out of the way, heading high into the air to put some distance between them. "You know I wouldn't lie to you!"

"I thought you didn't _know_ Brolly!" Chi-Chi called, causing Kakarot to look her way and eat another punch from Brolly.

"Well then he lied," Brolly said with a shrug, before sneering at Kakarot, "just like he's lying to me now."

"Brolly!"

Kakarot weaved away from Brolly's long leg sweeping at his shoulder, catching the meaty shin in his hand when he wasn't fast enough to dodge it.

"We go way back," Brolly said with a smirk as he pried his leg from Kakarot's grip. "Don't we? I see through your bullshit."

"This is different, Brolly!" Kakarot said. "I'm here to kill _her_."

With the most gut-wrenching scream Kakarot had ever heard from a woman, Chi-Chi ran away. Kakarot turned to run after her, but Brolly grabbed him by the foot and threw him to the ground, where he landed face-first in the jagged gravel. He peeled his face off the ground, looking up to see Chi-Chi running toward the crater left by his ship. With a gasp, Kakarot realized what she was doing.

"Hey!" Kakarot yelled. "You _can't_ take my ship!"

"How's it feel?" Brolly said with a laugh as his feet crunched the gravel by Kakarot's side. "Don't like when it's done to you, do you, Kakarot?"

Gritting his teeth, Kakarot watched his faraway ship levitate into the boggy air. Brolly was never going to get it through his thick head that Kakarot had nothing to do with the hijacking of his ship. Kakarot almost wished Paragus was here, the prick, just so he could argue the point to someone who would listen.

"Those women were Earthlings, Brolly. They want to kill you!"

Kakarot was knocked between the shoulder blades by a blow that stole the wind from his lungs. As he flailed through the air, clutching his chest and trying to catch his breath, Kakarot watched his ship depart, leaving him behind with Brolly. He wondered why the humans would lure Brolly, their bounty, here only to leave him on this planet without doing him any harm. Kakarot gasped, his lungs finally drawing the air they craved so desperately. If the humans wanted to kill Brolly, leading him to a planet to be destroyed _with_ it would be one way to do it, though a Saiyan would never consider such a cowardly method. These weren't Saiyans, though. They were conniving, manipulative humans. This was just the sort of thing they'd do. Kakarot had to get out of here.

"Brolly, where's your father?"

"Killed him," Brolly said before swinging his fist at Kakarot's face.

Kakarot leapt through the air to put some distance between him and Brolly. As he sped through the air, he sent one last growl to the woman departing in his ship to kill him along _with_ this unreasonably hopeless moron. He somersaulted out of Brolly's reaching arms before Brolly could prolong the fight any longer. Kakarot didn't have a second longer to play. He needed to find a way off this planet. With Brolly on his tail and the humans already set for a course off the purged planet, he didn't stand a very good chance. But Kakarot had been up against impossible odds in the past, and he'd never let any limitations stop him before. He would get off this planet alive, he would track those Earthlings, and he would make them pay for prolonging this. He could sense the energy of the other Earthlings not too far away, in the only ship left on this desolate planet.

* * *

Chi-Chi's breath came in rapid pants as she programmed the Saiyan ship, trying to contact Bulma or the others on the Hope ship. She couldn't figure out the blasted controls though - it was just as Bulma had said, with this stupid Saiyan language on all the buttons and commands. Chi-Chi almost recoiled from touching anything, knowing this was _his_ ship and she was sitting in the same place where he sat, but she pushed her feelings aside. She needed to know Bulma was alright. She needed to know when the planet would blow.

As she dialed in a command, hoping to make contact with Bulma, a flash of lights caught her eye. Chi-Chi gasped as she was flung back in her ship by the waves of the distant blast. Chi-Chi gazed out the space pod window at the dazzling display of exploding planet as the sound in her ears drowned out the explosion with a high-pitched ring. Settling back in the padded seat, Chi-Chi let her shoulders sag as the reality of their violent act set in.

Bulma might have been the one to blow the planet, but they _all_ had a hand in this. Three Saiyans were dead because of them. Lives were _lives_ , heartless beings or not. She hated it every single time she had to take part in something like this. Chi-Chi felt sick to her stomach. Brolly and Paragus might've been nothing to her, but the third Saiyan – she'd been intimate with him. She didn't even know his name or _like_ him, but she had to admit he'd made her feel good and given her an amazing evening she would never forget. He was trying to kill her, though. She reminded herself that this was the way it had to be.

Chi-Chi resumed entering the setting she'd started prior to the explosion. The ship chimed to notify her of contact. "Bulma?"

" _...Ch-Chi-Chi?"_

"It - you did it?"

" _Mm-hmm,"_ Bulma said numbly.

"You okay?"

" _I-I'm better now._ _Glad you're alive, Chi-Chi."_ A moment of silence filled Chi-Chi's pod, in which she could feel the weight of Bulma's emotion. _"Don't you ever scare me like that again! I thought I killed you, but you didn't leave me much of a choice, did you?"_

"Oh, I guess not," Chi-Chi said with a grimace, realizing how it must've looked from Bulma's perspective, not knowing Chi-Chi had sought safety in the Saiyan ship.

" _You guess not,"_ Bulma huffed. _"Well, it's done anyway. Now the next step is to collect our money from Zarbon."_

"Zarbon?"

" _He's the one paying the bounty."_

"Okay. Well, we need to tell the others. Are they okay?"

" _I haven't talked to them yet."_

"Bulma, what if they didn't make it off-"

" _They did, Chi-Chi. I saw the Hope ship leave before I blew the planet."_ Bulma sighed. _"Now at least those poor people on Pzaa can rest in Peace, rather than letting the likes of Frieza take over their planet, stepping all over their corpses."_

Chi-Chi released a solemn hum, turning her eyes on the fragmented rock floating in space where the once large and lively planet had been. All those people. Just like Earth. And the Saiyans - the first man with whom she'd ever been intimate among them - they were dead now too. Chi-Chi didn't know how to feel about that. He _was_ trying to kill them. But a part of her heart ached, knowing he was lost forever. She had no idea why it should.

"I'll - I'll contact the ship, Bulma. I can tell them where we need to meet."

" _Okay. Chelfiss,"_ Bulma said. _"Tell them Zarbon has our money on Planet Chelfiss."_

Chi-Chi knit her brows, concerned by Bulma's despondent tone. "Are you going to be okay?"

" _I'll be fine. I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."_

"Space is a lonely, empty place to be alone with your thoughts."

" _Maybe...after you talk to the others, your voice can keep me company on the way there?"_

Chi-Chi smiled. "Sounds good to me."

" _Talk to you in a few, Chi."_

As the beep indicated their communication's end, Chi-Chi sighed. Her eyes focused on the floating rubble, crashing softly into other jagged pieces of land only to spring into space as if they enjoyed the ride. The sight was contrary to the emotional weight of the planet's fate, and Chi-Chi wasn't sure whether it made her feel better or worse.

Chi-Chi thrust her finger into the comm button without bothering to look at the view screen. "Hey everybody. Mission accomplished, right?"

" _It's accomplished, alright."_

The mocking voice on the other end made Chi-Chi's eyes go wide before they shot to the view screen. The dark eyes staring back at her, mocking her, made Chi-Chi's blood run cold. He _couldn't_ be on her ship. If he was on her ship, the others were all in danger, or maybe dead already. With a gasp, Chi-Chi shook her head. This was impossible. There was no way he survived that explosion. The others had to be alive!

Leaning forward, placing her hands on the console surrounding the view screen, Chi-Chi sent the Saiyan her fiercest glare. "Get off my ship."

" _Sorry,"_ he said, licking his teeth. _"Can't do that. Where are we headed now?"_

"I'm not telling you."

" _Let me guess. To collect your bounty? That would be...Dodoria? Or is it Zarbon these days? Either way, I know you're going to Chelfiss."_

"Please," Chi-Chi said, knowing it was futile to hide the details from him, growing more desperate to know what had happened to the others with every passing second. "What do you want?"

" _You. All of you,"_ he said with a glare that cut Chi-Chi to the bone. _"I'll have you soon enough. See ya."_

As communication cut off, ceased on his end, Chi-Chi closed her eyes and released a withering sigh. Now she couldn't wait for this journey to Chelfiss to end. She dreaded contacting Bulma and having to relay this news to her. Shaking her head, Chi-Chi clenched her jaw. She regretted even momentarily mourning that bastard.

She _hated_ that Saiyan.


	9. Goku

Chi-Chi closed her eyes - then opened them. She breathed in through her nose and let the air out in one lengthy exhale. She was going to do this. She couldn't endure the travel to Chelfiss without some answers. It had been hard enough to relay finding the Saiyan on their ship to Bulma. Now after _that_ troubling conversation, sitting in this small spacecraft without further inquiry to the Hope ship was impossible. But holding a conversation with _him_ seemed more impossible. Yet if she didn't do it, she knew Bulma would, and would probably lose her temper and say something which would endanger their crew. Licking her lips, Chi-Chi reached forward. She moderated her breathing and set her gaze on the glowing buttons on the control panel as the transmission beeped a new conversation to life.

 _"Back so soon?"_

"What did you do to them?" Chi-Chi asked, unable to pry her eyes from the electronic glow and meet his gaze.

There was no answer. Chi-Chi's eyes fluttered as she felt the full weight of his stare, knowing he was there and waiting for her to look at him. In spite of what she might find, she forced herself to look upon his face.

His taunting smirk greeted her. _"I killed them all. This ship is mine now."_

Chi-Chi clutched her chest. Her heart sank. She was afraid of this, but she still wasn't prepared. His plump lips twisted in a mocking smile burned into her memory like a moment of failure she would never erase. His dark eyes, shadowed by the loose bangs covering his forehead, seemed to continue looking right through her, even as her eyes focused on the gray cushion beneath her hand laying limp on the armrest.

 _"Here it is, Goku!"_ Mrs. Brief's voice called. Chi-Chi's eyes bulged as they shot to the screen. The beautiful blonde leaned over the Saiyan with a steaming plate of food and a smile on her face.

"Mrs. Brief!" Chi-Chi sighed.

 _"Oh, hi, Chi-Chi, dear!"_ Mrs. Brief said with a friendly wave before turning her back on the Saiyan and walking away with a bounce in her step.

 _"Dammit,"_ the Saiyan murmured through clenched teeth.

As he winced and shot the woman's backside a glare, Chi-Chi was surprised to feel no fear for her. Mrs. Brief always managed to remain obliviously fearless, but as long as she was the one to deliver food - one of their rare, rationed portions - to the Saiyan, Chi-Chi doubted Mrs. Brief was in any danger. The woman looked unharmed and had even delivered the heaping plate of rice with no hesitation in approaching the Saiyan.

The Saiyan's eyes met Chi-Chi's as he wrapped an arm around the steaming plate and drew it into himself, raising a fork for a scoop. _"Earth food is just so good! Maybe I haven't killed them yet, but I will."_

Chi-Chi scoffed. This Saiyan was strange. "What do you want? And why did she call you Goku?"

 _"I want my ship back. You'll give it to me when we meet. We're not going to Chelfiss."  
_  
"We're not?" Chi-Chi muttered, crossing her arms and scowling.

 _"Not if you want your crew back unharmed. We're meeting on Breat."_

"Breat?"

A vein pulsed in her temple at the thought of veering off-course, _away_ from their bounty to Breat. Chi-Chi twisted her lips, wanting to spew a tirade at the Saiyan that could shatter his eardrums, but he still had the others in his presence, subject to his will. She couldn't imagine what Yamcha and Master Roshi were doing while Mrs. Brief played host to this Saiyan. They should've fought him - or at least tried. Maybe they already did and they were knocked out somewhere, or even worse, bleeding and dying. Maybe Mrs. Brief was only complacent because she was unaware of their plight, which wouldn't be surprising in her case. As the Saiyan scooped a massive mound of rice into his mouth - _her_ rice she'd worked hard to harvest off difficult fields on a remote planet - Chi-Chi growled. There was also the issue of that name gnawing at her. It was all wrong. Goku was not a Saiyan name. Saiyans always named themselves after stupid vegetables. _Always_.

"And the name?" Chi-Chi said through clenched teeth.

 _"What name?"_

"Your name."

'Goku' took another heaping bite. _"Whad aboud iff?"_

"Ugh," Chi-Chi rolled her eyes, irritated by him talking around his food. "It's not Saiyan."

The Saiyan smiled, his pearly teeth clear of food as he pointed his fork at the view screen. _"Not Saiyan. Just like you."_

Chi-Chi pounded her fist into the ship's console, causing it to groan and tremble under her fist. "I never told you I was Saiyan! Why are you giving me a fake name?"

 _"Hey!"_ Goku's eyes narrowed. _"Careful with that. I'm exchanging these hostages for my ship back in one piece, remember?"_

A beep echoed through the tiny space surrounding Chi-Chi. _"Incoming communication."_

The Saiyan's face dropped. _"Oh, no."_

Chi-Chi smiled. "Who could that be?"

 _"Commander Cui."_

 _"No!"_ the Saiyan said, shooting a hand toward the view screen as Chi-Chi reached for the controls on his ship, teasing to answer. _"Don't answer that! Cui's a bigger asshole than I am. He already-"_

"Hello?" Chi-Chi said, switching on the call on a secondary screen which didn't allow the purple fishfaced, glaring alien to hear or see anything from the first screen.

As Kakarot folded into his arms, bowing his head with a grimace, Chi-Chi smiled. She hardly registered Cui's voice greeting her as she enjoyed her momentary victory over the Saiyan. If he could take her ship hostage, she could take his ship hostage. Apparently he hadn't realized that worked _both_ ways.

 _"Who are you?"_ Cui said, his gritty voice gnawing at her ears.

"I'm the woman who stole this ship from its owner - some dumb Saiyan. Not at all handsome. Eats like a pig."

The Saiyan raised his eyes to glower at Chi-Chi past his forearm. _"You have no idea what you're doing."_

 _"Sounds like him,"_ Cui murmured. _"So where is he now?"_

"I...couldn't tell you," Chi-Chi said, raising a brow at the Saiyan as the direction of this conversation with Cui became apparent. She didn't think about the fact that she might be interrogated or accused of something herself when she answered this call. She had no idea what this Saiyan might've been up to before they crossed paths.

 _"Well he owes me something,"_ Cui said _. "And I want it back."_

"I couldn't help you with that."

The Saiyan bared his teeth. _"I don't owe him anything."_

 _"If I can't take it from him,"_ Cui said. _"I might just have to take it from you."_

"Me?" Chi-Chi scoffed. "I have nothing to do with this guy."

 _"You're right,"_ Cui drawled with a sly smile. _"What am I saying? I'll look for the bastard elsewhere. I know he's trying to take credit for my bounty, but I'm going to collect. If you hear from him, you let him know that I know Brolly's dead. Make sure he contacts Cui, honey, will you?"_

Chi-Chi nodded, a lump wedging in her throat. "Of course."

As communication ended, she curled her fists until her knuckles whitened and her fingernails cut into her palms. Cui couldn't collect that bounty. All their years of hard work and planning would be for nothing. But Chi-Chi couldn't tell _him_ that. If he knew what they were up to, he'd kill them _and_ collect the bounty.

 _"Great,"_ the Saiyan said, leveling her a glare. _"Cui's planning to kill both of us now - you know that, right?"_

"Sounds like you're concerned about me."

 _"You? No,"_ he scoffed. _"I'm talking about the trouble you've dragged me into."_

"Hey," Chi-Chi said, leaning into the monitor with a glare. "I never told you to follow me out here. As a matter of fact, I left early in the morning to make sure we'd never see each other again, _Goku_!"

The Saiyan smiled at the way she slurred his name. He knew just as well as she did that the name was a fake. The thing that bothered her was the why. What reason did he have for hiding his real name? And how had he chosen _that_ one as the fake? Chi-Chi frowned as she thought back to her discussion with the crew about the Saiyan who'd purged the Earth as a child. Her uneasiness toward this persistent Saiyan only worsened when she considered how human the name Goku was. It was like he was luring her into a false sense of security by providing such a comforting, familiar name, which most beings in this universe should have never had the pleasure of hearing. Still, thinking of him as a Goku instead of a Raditz or a Paragus or even worse – a Kakarot - lessened her guilt about sleeping with him, in a strange way. It _was_ comforting, even if she knew it wasn't real.

 _"You did, didn't you?"_ the Saiyan said, rubbing his chin before a smile blossomed across his face. _"And now I'm making sure we see each other again. I guess this is what everyone's talking about when they say I'm a magnet for trouble."_

"I'd rather do without the trouble," Chi-Chi said, wrapping her arms around herself as a wave of sadness encompassed her. "I've had enough trouble to last me a lifetime - and I've never gone looking for it once."

The Saiyan's dark eyes softened, if only for a moment, but Chi-Chi caught it. She furrowed her brows as she watched his features harden again, returning to their usual state of cold indifference.

 _"Well,"_ the Saiyan said with a tilt of his head, _"this time the trouble's likely to kill you."_

Chi-Chi let her lips twitch into a humorless smile. The trouble following them was dangerous, as it had been since before Chi-Chi could remember. She'd always lived in the shadow of something or another likely to kill her. But for the first time, there was a good chance the danger she faced could save her. Yamcha and Master Roshi might not have been strong enough to beat Kakarot, but Cui was.

"I'm counting on this trouble," Chi-Chi said, reaching forward to end the communication.

She knew the Saiyan would kill her and her friends the moment he had his ship back. Even if he kept them all alive for the food and their cooking, he wouldn't keep them around for long, not with their measly rations. Even Yamcha, the strongest of their crew, couldn't take him in a fight - not after the way Chi-Chi watched this Saiyan fight against Brolly. He was too strong, too fast. Cui was their only chance. She was counting on Cui following them. She was counting on Bulma being prepared for the worst, as she always was. Chi-Chi would inform her right away of everything she just heard, to make sure Bulma followed their new course to Breat as well.

Breat would be an interesting stop. It was a detour Chi-Chi didn't care for, but inevitably would bring them one step closer to their goal _without_ a murderous Saiyan hot on their trail, if everything worked out with the exchange as Chi-Chi hoped it might. Clasping her hands together, Chi-Chi looked out on the stars passing by her like streaks of white in the black expanse of space. She wished on every one of them that fortune would be on their side, not only on Breat, but on every planet they had to survive from here to Namek and back to Earth again.


	10. A Few Tricks

Breat was populated, even moreso than Tukee with its open market and tradepost traffic. Its large cities were a site of reprieve for soldiers coming down from a rough takeover, filled with locals raised for skills of tending to and entertaining their visitors. Kakarot had been here frequently, though he never much liked the place. Concubines and crowded parties were never for him - though his purge team sure did enjoy them. Like most places, the greatest lure here was the food. Today was the exception. Kakarot wasn't here for the food.

Nothing would feel better right now than taking his ship back from the hands of that damn Earthling woman who dared to steal it. As Kakarot stepped out onto the lavender grass growing in the meadow surrounding the human's ship, a trail of footsteps pattered behind him. He could hear their gasps as they took in the attractive, colorful lights outlining the distant city's skyline. It was nighttime here. He could smell that other human nearby in the soft breeze - the one _not_ held hostage on this ship he was coming off of.

Kakarot angled a glare over his shoulder. "Hey! I didn't say you could leave the ship."

The footsteps approaching him halted. Kakarot activated his scouter and tracked the skies for incoming ships. He found one already landed, but he knew it wasn't his. He would sense if it was. His ship wasn't here yet. Chi-Chi wasn't here. With a grunt, he looked toward the sky, seeking a shimmer of metal beyond the heavy gray clouds or a blip in his scouter pinpointing its arrival.

"Hey, Goku," the pig called - Kakarot thought his name was Oolo or something - "it's - it's kind of stuffy in there and we all just w-wanted to step out for some fresh air."

"Besides," said the man with a respectable scar on his face, now also sporting a lump on his head at the courtesy of Kakarot's fist, "I want to make sure you don't try anything with Chi-Chi the second she steps away from your ship."

"Try anything?" Kakarot laughed. "It's a little late for that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Unless by 'try anything', you mean like kill her. I mean," Kakarot said with a complacent shrug, "she's obviously not dead _yet_."

The man's solid jaw tensed visibly, the muscles straining enough for Kakarot to see it from this distance. The Earthling made a good point though. Kakarot wasn't sure yet how he was going to do this. Rubbing the back of his head, he gazed at the crowd of humans who had somehow evaded him back on Earth. They weren't all that remarkable, though he recognized the young desert bandit and his cat, who'd been fortunate years ago to catch Kakarot at a time his young stomach hadn't been fueled. Most recognizable was the old man - Roshi. Kakarot remembered him as the only opponent who'd managed to hit him with a ki blast back on Earth. If Kakarot hadn't been in ape form at the time, the impressive wave could've actually done some damage. Funny how easily luck altered fate.

Just as his eye caught a flash of light in the night sky, Kakarot's scouter buzzed. _"Goku."_

"Chi-Chi," he said with a grin. "Is that you landing now?"

" _Yes. Come meet me where I'm landing. You can track the ship, can't you?"_

"Of course I can," Kakarot said, turning to his rapt audience. "Old man, I need you to steer us toward that ship."

As Kakarot pointed toward the object falling from the sky, disappearing behind the skyline of the big city, his scouter flashed its location on the radar. There was no way he'd lose track of his ship now.

"That's _your_ ship, Goku?"

"With Chi-Chi on it, yes. We can't waste any time." Kakarot looked toward the sky to see nothing but blackness and stars, but his scouter told a different story. Another ship was breaching Breat's atmosphere. "Cui's coming."

"Then I'll drive," the younger man said, pressing a thumb into his chest. "I can get us there the fastest."

Kakarot chased them all back into the ship, allowing the old man to close the hatch behind him. He could see their minds working as he brushed past them. As much as they wanted to attack him, they had to realize it was no good. He took down the two who attacked him the first time he boarded this craft much too easily. They would deliver him to Chi-Chi's location as quickly as he wanted.

* * *

The field Chi-Chi had chosen as her landing point was already inhabited by the woman Bulma, who looked like she'd already made herself comfortable in this vast, open space bordered by long-abandoned ships in their craters. Kakarot doubted this was a coincidence.

As he walked out of the ship, ordering the humans to remain inside lest they wanted to be blasted by him sooner rather than later, Kakarot set his eyes on the two women. Chi-Chi had just climbed out of his ship and was leaping to Bulma's side. The smug smile on Bulma's face made Kakarot twist his lips into a sneer.

"Everything on Pzaa went according to plan," Bulma said, twisting her heel in the purple grass as her eyes met Kakarot's. "Who would've thought a weak little thing like me could've masterminded taking out the 'legendary' Super Saiyan?"

Chi-Chi cast her friend a peevish glare. "We have other problems to worry about, Bulma."

"Yeah," Kakarot huffed, stepping up to them. "Did your friend here tell you Cui's on his way here to kill you?"

Bulma turned an eye on Chi-Chi before meeting Kakarot's gaze with a frown. "That's a risk we came prepared for. Just like the ones we'll face when we leave to collect our bounty."

Kakarot raised his hand. "What about _this_ risk? Were you prepared for me?"

Chi-Chi and Bulma paled. Chi-Chi's eyes darted to the quiet yellow ship behind Kakarot, while Bulma's blue eyes remained locked on Kakarot's, her bottom lip trembling.

"I haven't killed them yet," Kakarot said. "They fed me. But I guess if they're going to get in my way," he added with a groan as he heard the patter of footsteps scurrying over the ramp to the open ship, "I'll have to kill them next."

"Next?" Bulma breathed.

Kakarot smirked. She knew it was her time. Kakarot loved this point in the battle, when he knew he would win. And these humans thought they were going to put one over on him and leave him for dead back on Pzaa, just like they did with Brolly. He'd _never_ lose so easily.

"Thanks for keeping my ship in one piece," he said to Chi-Chi, whose cheeks flushed pink when he smiled - he wasn't sure whether she flushed out of anger or infatuation - before a noise jarred them, booming from the atmosphere above. Cui. "But it's time to say goodbye."

"Wait!" Bulma held up a hand, stepping forward with eyes wide as saucers.

Scowling, Kakarot gathered his power and turned his hand previously aimed for Chi-Chi more directly toward Bulma.

"No, wait, really!" Bulma screamed. "You'll kill us all if you do that! I've rigged this place."

Kakarot raised a brow. "Okay?"

"Meaning you expel your ki with a blast, and everyone within a fifty mile radius is going to get nuked."

"Bulma!" Chi-Chi slapped her friend's arm. "That puts _us_ in danger!"

Bulma turned to Chi-Chi. "More danger than we would've been in two seconds ago if he was able to fire at us?"

As Chi-Chi's jaw fell, Kakarot cocked his head. He opened and closed his fingers, turning through his mind the idea of testing the woman's bluff. If he fired anyway and she was lying, they'd be dead, not him. He would only die if what she claimed about rigging the place to blow with the presence of ki was true. Kakarot had never heard of such a thing.

He shook his head. "You're lying."

"I am _not_ lying," Bulma said, turning to stomp at him and bare her teeth. "I invented these devices myself to protect us from giant apes and super strong alien assholes. We're surrounded by the devices now and I _assure_ you, they work."

Kakarot clenched his teeth, not wanting to believe her, but finding the fiery look in her eyes hard to ignore. He wanted them dead. But he very much wanted to continue living. Even if there was a blast slow enough for him to evade, his _ship_ would be blown to bits. Retrieving his ship was the whole point of being here. Kakarot heaved a sigh. This play was impressive. He couldn't make his move, not without knowing the truth.

Kakarot shrugged and raised his fists. "I'll just have to kill you another way."

Chi-Chi gasped, surprising Kakarot with her suddenness before he could spring forward to launch his attack. When Kakarot followed her gaze focused to his left, he let a tirade of expletives stream from his mouth. Gliding toward them through the air was Cui's large gray ship. The blasters were already dropped, positioned to shoot ki at Kakarot and the Earthling women. The women's hands immediately flew straight up in the air.

"Don't shoot!" Chi-Chi said.

"Unless you want to die, too!" Bulma yelled over the hum of the motor.

Kakarot didn't know what all this hand raising was about, but he dropped to his knees with a groan. He hated this with every fiber of his being, but surrendering before Cui ignited the woman's stupid device was his best option for self-preservation.

"Nobody move," Cui's voice called, echoing through loudspeaker from his ship.

Seconds later, the hatch parted from the ship, falling open as a figure moved toward them. Kakarot looked up at the figure, recognizing Cui by his backlit silhouette. Seeing him strutting toward Kakarot as if he'd already won made Kakarot want to punch that smug asshole in the face as soon as it was within reach.

" _I'm_ going to be the one collecting payment from Zarbon for the Saiyan defector kill," Cui said, sneering at Kakarot as he leaned in close to seize him by his chest armor.

"You mean Brolly? _Listen_ , Cui," Kakarot said, "I didn't kill him and I don't give a damn about your money."

"Like hell you don't. What do you think I am, a fool? Then what are you _doing_ with these people? Why are you surrendering to me so easily if you have no concern for them?"

"It's not concern for _them_ that made me do this," Kakarot said through clenched teeth. "I am not _with_ these people."

Cui scoffed. As he looked to the women, leering at them with his big bug eyes, something sank in Kakarot's gut. Like a stone dropped down his throat, the sight of Cui leering that way didn't sit well with him. The bastard was going to kill him. He was going to kill _his_ Earthlings, which were no one else's to kill. Kakarot tightened his fist with a growl. Before Cui could press the flat of his hand against Kakarot's chest in preparation for the killing blast he was to deliver, Kakarot drew back his fist and uppercut his chin, sending the alien flying.

"You idiot!" Bulma yelled. Kakarot was surprised to see she was yelling at _Cui_ , not him. "You almost killed us all! Did you not see that?"

Kakarot's jaw fell as he recalled the mid-air spark of light where Bulma pointed, like a sporadic ki blast, unorganized and aimed for no one in particular. He thought he'd imagined it with the energy he put into that hit. Or maybe there was a far-off atmospheric storm causing the flash. But with Bulma pointing toward that exact spot, while Chi-Chi stared wide-eyed at the same place, Kakarot _knew_ he hadn't imagined it. It wasn't just lightning. These Earthlings _were_ crazy.

A growl tore Kakarot from his stupor as something sped toward him, a flash of movement he couldn't prepare for. His chest was compressed by a blast of pain as he flew backward. He tumbled to the grass, rubbing his hand over the aching point where Cui's elbow had punctuated his armor. As he sat up to send Cui a glare, something scurried across the field behind Cui.

"I'll kill you all," Cui said, spinning to aim for the running figures in the dark.

"Don't, Cui!" Kakarot yelled.

He knew by the position Cui assumed that Cui was preparing to blast them. Kakarot would like to blast them himself, but not here. He punched Cui instead, to stop him from firing. He wanted to stop the Earthlings more than anything now and Cui was getting in the way. They were running for their Earth ship and getting away. Its engines were already firing with his lost hostages gathered safely inside.

As Kakarot bent his knees to spring toward them and cut them off, another hard blow landed in his back. With a grunt, Kakarot fell to his knees. He was quick to pick himself up and sweep his leg beneath his opponent, knocking Cui in the shins. As the purple alien fell to the ground with a thump, Kakarot sprang to his feet and turned for the Earth ship. It was already lifting off the ground. Its hatch closed him off as it swung slowly closed.

"No!" Kakarot yelled as he dashed toward the ship.

The air whooshed around him as he leapt to reach for Chi-Chi, whose stunning face hung over the edge, glaring down at him. Her black hair whipped against her flushed cheeks and pale forehead before the hatch closed in, cutting her off from Kakarot's view.

Cui was in his face.

As Kakarot recoiled from Cui's sudden appearance, the hatch sealed with a thump and the ship levitated higher.

"No," Kakarot breathed. "No, you're letting them get away!"

"Kakarot!" Cui snapped his gaze to the ship and turned a glare on Kakarot. "You're going to pay for this, you stupid Saiyan."

"You're the one who's stupid!" Kakarot said as he knocked his fist into Cui's ugly face. "They played you for a fool, Cui!"

"Look who's talking," Cui said as he pressed the back of his hand against the trail of purple leaking from his nostrils, "the biggest fool I know."

"You don't know me," Kakarot said as he swung his leg back and brought it forward, plunging it as hard as possible into Cui's undefended side.

Cui buckled. He screamed as he fell, tumbling through the air. When he hit the ground with a collision that cut off his scream, Kakarot sprang toward him, not giving him the chance to retaliate. He raised his fist to bury it in Cui's face, but the bastard disappeared from his reach just as he swung.

Disregarding Cui now that he was out of sight, Kakarot turned to gaze at the ship hovering high in the atmosphere. When it wasn't where he expected to see it, Kakarot stretched his sights further with a gasp. The ship was small and distant, fading into the darkness as it continued to move away from them at a rapid pace.

"Dammit!" Kakarot ignited his ki from within and sprang after them, only to be jolted by a hit to his throat that made him wheeze and grasp his throbbing neck as his body flagged through the air.

Cui lowered the arm he'd held to clothesline Kakarot, smirking as Kakarot sent him a glare. This bastard was intent on killing him, and all over a bounty about which Kakarot couldn't give two shits. Growling, Kakarot sprang at Cui and began exchanging a flurry of punches with the cackling alien. He would _not_ die over this stupid stolen bounty. If Cui didn't want to let this go, _he_ was the one who would die. At this point, the Earthlings were escaping him again and it was all Cui's fault. Kakarot craved to see Cui gasp his last breath. With every panting breath and exertion of movement, his desire to crush Cui strengthened.

With a growl, Kakarot gathered his power, but restrained himself just short or firing a blast. His eyes darted to the grounds where Bulma had indicated an unseen device planted. Biting his lip, Kakarot turned his eyes on Cui and directed all of that gathered power into his fist. If his ki remained contained within him, he could use it. He only couldn't _release_ it if he didn't want to blow himself to bits along with Cui.

Cui appeared behind him, making Kakarot's eyes go wide. Kakarot turned and aimed his fist for Cui's head, but Cui was gone, only a shadow of his image remaining where he'd hovered.

"Cui!"

"Here, Kakarot!" Cui said.

Kakarot was knocked forward, careening face down to the ground miles below. The speed was so incredible with the power Cui had put into that hit, that Kakarot couldn't stop himself from smashing into the ground and forming a crater - he could only stop himself enough to lessen the impact and the pain. Kakarot lay in the dirt, watching the dust settle around him. He heard the patter of Cui's boots hitting the dirt at the top of the crater behind him. Kakarot didn't flinch as tapping footsteps drew closer. He clenched his jaw and his fists. Tension pulled at every muscle in his body as the footsteps reached a point where Cui had to be standing right over his feet.

" _Now_ , Kakaro-"

Kakarot sprang to his feet, whirled to face Cui, and sent his fist through Cui's gut. The armor tore around Kakarot's wrist as his knuckles penetrated the warmth of Cui's chest and tore out to the cool chilling air on the other side. As Cui's bulging eyes blinked, red and strained with tension, Kakarot bared his teeth and wrenched his fist free. He planted his foot into the part of Cui's chest which wasn't a gaping hole and kicked, knocking him onto his back. As Cui garbled and exhaled with no energy behind his noises, Kakarot smiled down on him. The bastard should've known not to underestimate him.

With a click of his scouter, Kakarot ensured that Cui was dead. All the massive energy previously radiating from Cui had dwindled to zero. His crew mates could be a problem still. As Kakarot turned toward the hovering gray ship, his fists raised for more, he found the hatch already ascending. He smirked as the ship drifted into the air, the cowards turning tail and running. As their ship disappeared, the emptiness of the sky brought a frown to Kakarot's face.

"It's not fair," Kakarot said with a sigh. "I fight those Earthlings' battles for them and they get away – twice now. At least they left me my ship this time."

Kakarot turned to his dormant ship, placing his hands on his hips as he thought about where to take it. He could attempt chasing after the humans again, but this fight with Cui had carried on long enough to give them a significant head start. Even if he could catch them, catching up wouldn't be enough. Kakarot needed to get _ahead_ of them. He needed to know where they were going.

His eyes flashed. "The bounty."

Kakarot pressed a finger to his scouter as he decided who best to call. If the humans wanted their money, they had to go to Zarbon. All Kakarot had to do to stop them was call on someone who could get to Zarbon before they could.

"Now what planet is Zarbon on? Vegeta? A Frieza Planet?" His eyes lit with the memory as he pressed the button, knowing just who to call. "Chelfiss. Raditz!"

" _Kakarot."_

"I need you to relay a message to Prince Vegeta for me."

" _Why don't you call him yourself?"_

"You know he'd never listen to me."

" _Then you're out of luck."_

"Raditz! This is important. If Prince Vegeta doesn't hear about it and later he finds out _you_ knew and never told him-"

" _What?"_ Raditz snapped.

Kakarot smirked as he headed toward his ship in long strides. "There're some people on their way to collect money from Zarbon. They have something of Vegeta's. He'd hate it if he missed them."

" _Oh really? What do they owe Prince Vegeta?"_

"I don't think I should tell you."

" _I think you don't want to tell me because you're lying, Kakarot."_

"Maybe I'm not."

" _Maybe you are, you little shit."_

"Maybe I'm not, and if Vegeta doesn't meet with Zarbon and see to these people who stole from him, he's going to be pretty damn furious."

Kakarot ended the call, convinced his brother would bite the bait. Raditz, unfortunately for him, worked too closely with the Prince to risk suffering his wrath. He would ensure to at least personally see to the people due to meet with Zarbon. Their short detention would buy all the time Kakarot needed. Even better, if Prince Vegeta could be convinced that the Earthlings has stolen from him, or if they caught him on a bad day and he decided to punish them for being a waste of his time, they could end up Frieza's captives. They could be detained simply for the blame of Cui's death. Prince Vegeta didn't even need to be involved. If he _was_ involved, Vegeta's presence would put the final seal on their coffin. Laughing, Kakarot set his destination for Chelfiss, where the Earthlings were in for a surprise with their bounty collection.


	11. Guilty Until Proven Innocent

The green-skinned alien staring back at Chi-Chi and Bulma was handsome and well-mannered, moreso than any PTO higher-up with whom Chi-Chi had the displeasure of interacting before. Most PTO warriors were like this man's associate, who stood off to the side, his pink, lumpy arms folded over his armor, a scowl on his hideous face. Chi-Chi cast Bulma a sidelong glance, frowning at the way Bulma's eloquent words slurred together when Bulma's eyes glazed over. Chi-Chi sighed. Bulma _had_ to insist that she be a part of this negotiation. Obviously, she hadn't foreseen being dazzled by the face to face with Lord Frieza's right hand man. With one look at Yamcha's irritated scowl pointed at Bulma, Chi-Chi knew the completion of this price negotiation was in her hands.

"Listen," Chi-Chi growled, cutting off Zarbon's suave pleasantries, "we killed the man you wanted dead. You offered a price for that man. Now it's time to pay up your offering price, Buddy."

"Chi-Chi," Yamcha hissed.

Chi-Chi pried her arm from Yamcha's grip and stepped forward to thrust her palm toward the grinning man tossing his emerald braid over his shoulder. "We don't have a lot of time here."

Looking at Chi-Chi's empty hand, Zarbon snorted a delicate laugh. "You don't have a lot of time. What about proof? Do you have any of _that_?"

" _What_ proof?" Yamcha asked.

Zarbon crossed his arms and shot Chi-Chi a wink. "You can't expect me to place Lord Frieza's money in the hands of the wrong people. How do I know it was really you who killed him? I believe _Cui_ accepted that assignment, if I'm not mistaken."

As Zarbon looked back at his companion, who clicked his scouter with a stubby finger as he nodded his confirmation, Chi-Chi ground her teeth. The leading members of the PTO were onto them. Suddenly, this whole plan seemed like a bad idea. This wasn't just some random squadron with whom they were messing here. These guys were the cream of the crop. They answered directly to Lord Frieza. One slip, and they would all be dead. After a low growl came from Bulma at her side, Chi-Chi realized she'd been clutching her fingers around Bulma's sleeve, digging her sharp nails into the soft flesh of Bulma's arm. Chi-Chi released Bulma with a gasp, relieved to see her physicality seemed to have snapped Bulma from her stunned state.

"We _had_ his ship," Bulma said, narrowing her eyes," but we left that behind."

"Hm," Zarbon hummed. "Too bad for you then."

As he turned to leave, Bulma cleared her throat. " _But_! I do have this."

As Bulma reached into her jacket and pulled out her tablet, Chi-Chi exchanged a glance with Yamcha. She didn't know what Bulma had stored on that tablet which would help them in _this_ situation, but Bulma seemed pretty assured of herself. As Yamcha shrugged with a bemused frown, Chi-Chi lowered her gaze to the screen of Bulma's tablet, glancing over Bulma's shoulder for a peek of what she was thrusting in Zarbon's face. Chi-Chi saw an image of space, and a planet. The planet's soft blue glow looked like Pzaa.

The video played silently as Zarbon took the tablet in his hand, turning it to face himself. When the roar of an explosion played, sounding larger than it _should_ have through the tablet's tiny speakers, Chi-Chi jumped. She heard Yamcha grunt behind her, sounding just as surprised as she was.

As Zarbon raised a brow, his eyes locked on the screen, Bulma crossed her arms and smiled. "You just watched Brolly's death. And…Paragus', I suppose. Do we get extra for killing him, too?"

"What I just watched," Zarbon said as he turned the tablet toward Bulma, "was the destruction of a planet which I _believe_ was on Lord Frieza's list."

Bulma accepted the tablet into her hands with nervous laughter. "Well you see, Brolly was _on_ that planet, _whichever_ planet it was, when it exploded." As Zarbon frowned at Bulma, Bulma tapped at the device and thrust the tablet back into Zarbon's arms. "See? Check the timestamp at the bottom."

Zarbon wrinkled his nose as he looked at the replaying video. "What's it matter what _time_ \- oh."

Bulma smiled and raised her chin. "Verifies that this video was taken from _Brolly's_ Saiyan ship. Proves _I_ was in his ship at the time Brolly was left to eat dust with the rest of that planet."

Zarbon scratched his cheek and furrowed his brows. His hand slid to the screen again, tapping away at the device until seconds later, Chi-Chi heard the explosion replayed. She grit her teeth, but didn't jump at the second explosion. With a heavy sigh, she looked to Bulma. Whatever Zarbon decided would determine not _only_ whether they received the money they came here for, but whether they made it _off_ this planet to complete their mission. Bulma looked confident they would.

Zarbon drew in a sharp breath. "If _you_ killed Brolly," he said before looking into Bulma's eyes and capturing Chi-Chi's gaze, "what happened to Cui?"

"He's dead, too," Chi-Chi said.

"He was on this planet?"

"No," Chi-Chi said, cutting Yamcha off as he tried to interject. " _We_ killed him."

"Really?" Zarbon said with a laugh.

"He was in our way," Chi-Chi said with a shrug, ignoring Yamcha's growl from over her shoulder.

"Then I guess if I can't pay _him_ ," Zarbon said, twisting his lips and reaching into his armor. "There's nothing to lose in paying you. A job done is a job done."

"Exactly," Bulma said as she snatched the international zeni bunched in Zarbon's fist. "Yamcha, are the others done buying our supplies yet?"

"I'll check," Yamcha said with a smile, his eyes lighting on the green brandishing in Bulma's hand.

As Yamcha clicked his scouter and started conversing with Oolong, Chi-Chi smiled at Bulma. "We'll have to get the money to them as soon as possible so we can pay for those goods and get out of here."

"Now that we'll be all fueled up," Bulma said, casting a wary glance at Zarbon's watchful eyes, "we don't have anything to stop us from getting you-know-where."

As Chi-Chi's eyes lit on Zarbon, a smile spread across his pretty lips. The look in his amber eyes said he knew a secret they didn't. Chi-Chi didn't like that. There were many reasons Zarbon could decide not to let them go. He could punish them for Cui's death. He could claim they hadn't _really_ killed Brolly and it was all a con. Being Lord Frieza's right hand man, he could claim he didn't _like_ them, which would be reason enough for him.

Chi-Chi tugged on Bulma's arm just as Yamcha was ending his conversation with confirmation that all their items and passengers aside from themselves were onboard their Hope ship. "Come on. Let's not waste any time."

Bulma gave Zarbon a nod, before giving a brief nod to Dodoria, who'd remained silent for the duration of this transaction. Chi-Chi didn't like that either. The entire time, the looks he gave her had been unsettling, but now given her current fears, his scowl seemed utterly evil. Chi-Chi felt her teeth chatter as she turned away, letting Bulma lead her and Yamcha away from this location to rush back to their ship.

Zarbon and Dodoria's laughter echoed behind them.

* * *

The ship's hatch was open when they returned. A wrinkled old man, hunched and no taller than Master Roshi, stood beside it, leaning on a silver cane. His bowed bald head lifted at the sound of their approaching footsteps, and though his wrinkled eyes appeared to be closed, his hand shot out the moment his eyes might've lit on them.

As Bulma brushed past Chi-Chi, paying the old man no mind, Yamcha halted outside the entrance and seized Bulma by the arm. "Can we help you?"

"Money," the old man said, his wrinkled fingers prying at the empty air.

"Pay the man, Yamcha," Chi-Chi's father's voice called, echoing as it bounced off the walls of the ship.

Yamcha cast Bulma a grin. "You heard him, Bulma."

With a growl and a sneer at the oily-skinned old man, Bulma leaned forward and deposited their hard-earned money into his hand so hard Chi-Chi thought his frail hand might break. "There!"

Chi-Chi raised her brows as her father's silhouette appeared in the hatch's entryway. "Is that all? We have everything we need now?"

"According to Master Roshi and Oolong," Ox King said with a hearty bellow. "Thank you for waiting, Mr. uh…uh…."

With a hiss, the old man clutched his money and turned away from their ship, waving a dismissive hand at Ox King before walking away. Chi-Chi sighed. It was probably for the better, rude as his departure was. She had a feeling this ship was a dangerous place for anyone. Since it was dangerous for _them_ to remain stationed here, they didn't need anyone wasting their time. Chi-Chi wanted to _move_.

"Start the engines, Dad," Chi-Chi said as she stormed across the rampway, already intent on scolding whoever was slacking at the helm for the lack of engine noise, which she should've heard out here by now.

"That won't be happening, I'm afraid."

Chi-Chi stopped cold, her eyes widening at the sound of that familiar voice behind her. When she turned from the ship's threshold, Yamcha's fists were already raised at Zarbon, shielding his sneering face. Chi-Chi assumed a stance as well, but she wasn't fast enough. Neither was Yamcha. Chi-Chi's jaw fell as Yamcha was knocked on his back by a seemingly invisible force. She blinked and blinked again, feeling like her eyes were playing tricks on her when Zarbon stood in Yamcha's place, his demeanor relaxed and not at all indicating the movement it would've required to knock down a powerful fighter like Yamcha.

"What are you _doing_?" Chi-Chi yelled when the alien turned his smirk on her.

"Did you really think you would get away unscathed?"

"We _hoped_ to," Chi-Chi said.

"Chi-Chi!" Bulma tossed something tiny through the air. Chi-Chi caught it. "Look out!"

As Chi-Chi squeezed the item in her palm, recognizing it as one of Bulma's ki guard devices, something hit her. Her chin was smacked so hard that her head bobbed backward and rebounded forward fast enough for her to see Zarbon's green fist pulling away. As she stood wide-eyed and stunned, the pain coursing through her system, Zarbon zoomed away from her. Yamcha's cry of pain alerted Chi-Chi to what was happening as she rubbed her jaw and stumbled forward, catching herself to turn toward the action.

"No!" Bulma screamed. "Let me go!"

Master Roshi appeared at the ship's hatch, his eyes darting from one person to another as his eyes widened behind his sunglasses. "What is going on out-"

The old man fell with a whimper as Zarbon appeared in front of him. Chi-Chi couldn't see what he'd done, but she saw what happened to Bulma and Yamcha. They were bound by glowing bands of ki, unable to rise to their feet. As Chi-Chi tried to get up, she felt a tug on her ankle. Something had tied her to the ground. When she looked back, the telltale yellow glow made her snarl.

"Alright, let's go," a man said from behind her.

Chi-Chi looked back to see the face behind the voice. The man's squared jaw was set in a grimace, his cool dark eyes set on Chi-Chi with no semblance of emotion. His blue skin was scaly and his eyes held no pupils. Chi-Chi recoiled when he reached webbed fingers toward her, swinging a chain in his other hand.

"Don't touch me!" Chi-Chi said.

"Enough!" Zarbon said, causing Chi-Chi to snap her gaze over her shoulder. "You're lucky I don't kill you. If you stop resisting now, Grapefu here will escort you unharmed."

"Unharmed?" Chi-Chi said, pointing at her throbbing chin.

Zarbon shrugged. "With no _further_ harm."

With a sigh, Chi-Chi set her gaze on Bulma. She wanted to keep fighting, but Bulma's terse shake of her head made Chi-Chi hesitate. As she sent Bulma a questioning look, her wrist was roughly grasped, something clasping around it with a bruising snap against her wristbone. As she was yanked to her feet by Zarbon's uniformed thug Grapefu, Zarbon walked toward her with Bulma and Yamcha led by the elbows. They didn't struggle, so as they passed and Grapefu pulled Chi-Chi, she didn't struggle either. She ground her teeth, wanting to fight, knowing the others were still behind them. But as she turned to glance over her shoulder, she saw them led to follow by a thug with a similar appearance to Grapefu, and Dodoria himself. Chi-Chi turned forward with a growl. She didn't know why they had to bow down, but she'd never questioned Bulma's judgement before. Maybe she was planning a smoother escape _after_ they were left to rot in a cell. That idea did not appeal to Chi-Chi at all, not if she could fight. As she was tugged forward, away from her ship stocked with supplies, she wished she knew how they would get out of this to make their trip to Namek _now_.

* * *

Chi-Chi stumbled into darkness, the hand at her back not at all gentle or appreciated. As Bulma whined her reproach of their jailer's rough handling and Yamcha barked an affronted "hey!" at one of the burly men, Chi-Chi whirled around with her fists raised. She was not going to let these jerks ruin this for them now, not when they were so close. As she slid a foot forward, prepping her rear foot for a hard kick into the man's wide armored gut, Yamcha flew ahead of her. Chi-Chi stumbled back with a gasp. Yamcha's scream tore between the iron bars surrounding this dank cell as his fist launched for the man's chin.

"Yamcha!" Bulma screamed as Master Roshi clung to her, watching with the same terror-stricken eyes.

The alien sneered as his fist, released from his long arm, plowed into Yamcha's chest. Yamcha was thrown into the hard rear wall of their cell with a clatter and a grunt as the jailer growled. "Stay in there!"

"Hey!" Chi-Chi yelled, readying her stance again when Yamcha's fall re-motivated her. "We're _not_ going to stay in here. We did a job and we have places to go! Now step aside!"

As Chi-Chi planted her foot in the concrete-hard floor and reared her fist back, something caught it. "Chi-Chi!"

When broad arms enveloped her in a tight grip, Chi-Chi thrashed. "Let me go, Dad!"

"No, Chi-Chi," he rasped in her ear. "Calm down! It's no good this way."

"You might be wise to listen to him," Zarbon said, his silky voice filtering through Chi-Chi's ears as he slid out of the shadows outside the bars. "Or don't. I could always use the entertainment of watching another one of you fall."

"Why are you _doing_ this?" Bulma exclaimed, stepping back with her fists clenched at her sides.

Behind her, Yamcha groaned, rubbing his bleeding head and struggling to his feet with the aid of Puar and Oolong. Chi-Chi frowned at the sight of them, all of them, cowering in a musty cell on an alien planet. They had to fight! She didn't care how freakishly strong these aliens were, or even that they were outnumbered down here. Giving in now could be the end. Chi-Chi was prepared to fight for their last chance of freedom. Chi-Chi wiggled in her father's arms again with all her might, growling and yelling with the exhaustion of fighting his iron-tight hold.

"I've received word that you people have something of interest to the Saiyan prince," Zarbon said.

Dr. Brief blinked. "Prince Vegeta?"

"Ooh," Mrs. Brief cooed, "do we get to _meet_ him?"

"Mom," Bulma grumbled through clenched teeth, "he's the ruler of mass murderers, who thinks we have something of his. We don't _want_ to meet him."

"He'll be searching your ship when he arrives here shortly," Zarbon said with a sly grin. "I'm sure you won't mind."

"He's going to search our ship?" Bulma cried.

"For his stolen possessions," Zarbon drawled with a yawn. "He has every right to."

"Now hold on," Master Roshi said. "Not if we never stole anything of his, he doesn't."

"What exactly does the prince think we stole from him?" Bulma said.

Zarbon shrugged. "He was tipped off by one of his men that the people collecting a bounty on Brolly had something of his. Personally, I would've preferred to kill you on the spot, but there's a chance Prince Vegeta might need to question you." Zarbon rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't want to let Lord Frieza's special prince be unhappy now, would we?"

"Whoever your source is," Yamcha said, "he's lying. We've never even met Prince Vegeta!"

"Doesn't matter," Zarbon said, exchanging a frown with the guard standing in the open cell doorway. "Though this particular source _does_ have a reputation for being a shameless liar. However, he should arrive here soon, too. And I would very much like his reason for coming here to remain in place so I can _deal_ with him."

Chi-Chi growled, still restrained in the cage of her father's arms. "You can't use us as your pawns! We did a job for you!"

"She's right," Yamcha said, narrowing his eyes at Zarbon. "No one else managed to kill Brolly. Wasn't that Prince Vegeta's order anyway? He should be _rewarding_ us, not having us locked away."

"Too bad," Zarbon said. "My focus is on the prick who turned you in, so I'll leave your fate in Prince Vegeta's hands."

"What'd this _prick_ do that was so bad?" Oolong said, wrapping his fingers around the bars of their new cage as he peered up at Zarbon.

Zarbon clicked his tongue. "Not that it's any of _your_ concern, but Lord Frieza doesn't take kindly to defectors - especially when a planet was lost due to this one failing to do his job."

Bulma blinked. "You-Lord Frieza lost a planet?"

"And I'm going to pay for it if I don't deliver him this fool," Zarbon muttered as he turned away.

"Hey, wait!" Chi-Chi said as she sprang loose from her father's grasp with a burst of strength. "You said this defector was one of Prince Vegeta's men - so he's a Saiyan?"

"Very good. You figured that out _all by yourself_."

"A Saiyan," Chi-Chi said, wringing her hands together as she met the gazes of her friends. "It's him. Goku's coming."

"No," Yamcha said, scowling. " _That_ Saiyan? We lost him back on Breat. He's not going to follow us anymore."

"No," Bulma said. "I think Chi-Chi's right. He didn't seem like the type to let it go. I didn't think we'd seen the last of him."

"Whoever you think it is," Zarbon said, cutting off any further discussion with a glare, "you'll see soon enough. He'll be joining you in the next cell very soon."

As Zarbon pressed his fist into his palm, Dodoria cackled and cracked his knuckles from the shadows where Chi-Chi hadn't even realized he'd been lingering. Chi-Chi wrung her hands vigorously, thinking how much she didn't want to see _him_ again. She wasn't scared of Goku hurting her, because she knew he would be unable to harm anyone else in these cells, which were known to be restricted by ki in some way. But she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she was _scared_ of being in such close proximity with him again. She didn't want to see his face, unless she was going to punch it.

As Zarbon and Dodoria departed the cell block, leaving the guards to watch over them, Chi-Chi turned to the wall with a groan. She fell into a sitting position, putting her face in her hands, not caring if she looked like a pouting child. She was locked in this cell along with the only people she cared about, listening to the cell door rattle shut behind her, acutely aware of the fact that the Saiyan who'd seduced her was heading her way once again. He was only going to keep coming. Bulma was right. He wanted them dead and he wouldn't give up until they were.

Shriveling up like a child seemed more like a reasonable option than any.


	12. Plan of Escape

Prince Vegeta might not have been too happy with him, but Kakarot was prepared to take the backlash. The Earthlings were locked up here on Chelfiss. As soon as his ship made landing, Kakarot knew he'd find them. His redemption in the eyes of every warrior who'd ever mocked his 'failed purge' was in sight.

He wouldn't kill the Earthlings behind bars, though. It would be far too easy, killing them while they were trapped. He needed to prove that he could kill them as they wandered free, as he would've done back on Earth if they hadn't...done whatever it was they did to evade him. As Kakarot stormed off his ship and made his way through the streets of the city, destined for the cells where the PTO would keep them, his mind began to race. He still didn't know how they escaped. He hated the idea of killing them and never _knowing_.

As much as everyone else was convinced that he'd suffered some sort of oversight, Kakarot knew that wasn't the case. They shouldn't have been able to escape, but inexplicably, they had. Kakarot had seen hints of magic during his time on Earth, but as far as he knew, there was nothing the Earthlings could've done to protect themselves from his advanced technology and senses he'd heightened during his time there.

With a growl, Kakarot swept past the warriors casting him dirty looks in the thoroughfare. He didn't stop after he bumped shoulders with one who cursed him. He wouldn't stop for anything. He needed an explanation. He needed to kill those stupid humans honorably. In order to have both those needs met, he was likely going to have to break them out of the prison he'd put them into.

As Kakarot stormed up to the jail entrance, he was met by Zarbon and Dodoria standing guard. They both flanked the doorway, their arms crossed as smirks stretched across their faces.

"Is Prince Vegeta in there?" Kakarot asked before sweeping past them and reaching for the door.

"Yeah," Dodoria said.

Zarbon caught the door mid-opening. "But I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

"Yeah, well," Kakarot said, "you're not me."

He pushed through the doorway, the shadows of the dark prison washing over him before the door behind him closed out the exterior light. He heard the moans of prisoners kept here for too long as he passed through the hall. He didn't know who they were, but he felt sympathy for them. Slowly rotting away in a cell was no way to die. He wouldn't even wish that death on the Earthlings, who he wanted dead. But he knew many prisoners here would perish that way.

Frieza was known to enjoy visiting the cells to watch his captives suffer from time to time.

Kakarot's footsteps echoed as he moved deeper into the prison, but they were muffled by the sounds of voices up ahead. He recognized Prince Vegeta's voice and drew a deep breath. This meant the Earthlings were near. He was almost at their cell. A smile lit his face, in spite of the fact that he knew Prince Vegeta would be furious with him. After all, by now Prince Vegeta had to realize the Earthlings had nothing of his, as Kakarot claimed they had.

"Prince Vegeta!" Kakarot called as the spikes of black hair came into view down the dimly lit hall.

Vegeta turned slowly, narrowing his eyes. "Kakarot."

Kakarot's eyes widened as they darted from Vegeta's face to the terrorized faces of those trapped in the cell beside the prince. Now they knew his name. He should've realized Vegeta would say something about him, but he hadn't really thought that far ahead. The hatred in their eyes mixed with their terror as they looked back at him. They finally realized he was the same Saiyan who'd torn apart their home planet and chased them off of it. When Kakarot's eyes moved from the old man, to the large man, to the blue-eyed woman, and finally landed on Chi-Chi's dark gaze, Kakarot grunted. It disturbed him, more than he realized it would, to see her looking at him with such venom. Though her eyes watered and betrayed her emotions for more than what she was making them out to be, the hate practically wafted off of her like a heat wave.

"Hm," Kakarot hummed, playing this off as if their discovery was nothing, "so now they know."

"And now _I_ know," Vegeta said, his voice a low warning growl. "The reason you defected from your assigned purge was to chase after these pathetic Earthlings. Do you have any idea of the damage you've caused us?"

"I-"

Kakarot turned toward Vegeta, too slow to react to the unexpected fist flying his way. As pain shot through his cheekbone, Kakarot's back hit the jagged rocks lining the cellblock wall. Prince Vegeta's forearm pinned him against it by the collarbone with much more pressure than was necessary. Kakarot hissed through his teeth and turned away from Vegeta leaning into him.

"I should've known not to trust a damn thing your stupid brother said, especially not when it was coming from you. And now I've wasted my time coming here. These people mean nothing to me. They mean everything to you though, don't they, Kakarot?"

Kakarot turned a glare on Vegeta, sneering. "Prince Vegeta, I _have_ to finish it."

"You should've finished it back on their planet, instead of dragging me into this! I would kill you right now if I could, you tailless, third class piece of shit."

Kakarot blinked. "Why can't you?"

"Because," Zarbon said, his smooth voice filtering in as he emerged from the shadows at Kakarot's side, "Lord Frieza himself would like a word with you regarding your recent defection."

"You know your purge team failed their mission without you," Dodoria said in his coarser voice. "They all perished, the planet was lost to Lord Frieza's empire, and he has every reason to blame you for the loss."

Kakarot grit his teeth. He knew Lord Frieza's 'words' would only be spoken by his fists, ki beams, and that devastatingly powerful tail of his. Kakarot had seen what happens to purgers punished by Lord Frieza. He'd sworn to himself he would never put himself in that position. His desire to finish these Earthlings had obscured his better judgment. Kakarot winced at the realization.

"These Earthlings never had anything of mine," Vegeta said, "did they?"

"You found nothing useful on their ship?"

"Don't play coy with me," Vegeta snapped. "You _know_ I didn't."

Kakarot glanced just past Vegeta's shoulder to see a visible sigh of relief from Chi-Chi and the other Earthlings. He furrowed his brows at the unexpected reaction. They were hiding something on their ship? Something of value? Kakarot couldn't imagine what that could be.

"Idiot!" Vegeta growled. "Get him out of my sight, Zarbon, before I do something I'll regret. And you, Kakarot," Vegeta said as Zarbon stepped by their side, "don't ever use me to trap your victims. You want the Earthlings dead? Have fun killing them yourself, like a _real_ Saiyan."

As Zarbon grasped his arm and gave him a tug, Kakarot scoffed. "I _will!_ That's exactly what I plan to do, Vegeta!"

Kakarot turned a glare on the Earthlings, his desire to see them die at his hands reignited by Prince Vegeta's mere suggestion that he'd ever have anyone _else_ do it. Zarbon's grasp around his arm tightened, forcing Kakarot to look Zarbon's way. He didn't fight as he was pulled toward the open cell door swinging on its hinges beside the Earthlings' cell. Being detained here to meet with Frieza hadn't been part of his plan, but it could work. Kakarot preferred to confront this problem head-on rather than attempting an escape where death was a real possibility. Escaping would only lead to being hunted by Frieza later on.

Zarbon pushed Kakarot forward, laughing as Dodoria slammed the bars closed. Kakarot groaned through clenched teeth as the bars hit him with the violent force of their swing. Lifting his chin and closing his eyes, he was quick to recover as he seated himself on the cold, hard floor. He would wait for Frieza - or so he wanted Zarbon, Dodoria and the guards to think. As he nodded his head forward into his hands clasped together, Kakarot began to think. He needed this time to think, if his plan was still going to work. He needed to find a way to get the humans out of here, along with himself.

"Well," Vegeta said, laughing as Kakarot refused to open his eyes, "it looks like you're doing an impressive job killing them from inside that cell. I'm so glad my father relies on warriors like _you_ to do his busy work for Lord Frieza."

Kakarot masked his expression, putting himself somewhere else mentally. The darkness was a soothing distraction from his current location, predicament and company. If only he could tune out the noises.

"Tell me when Frieza's done with him, if there's anything left after that," Vegeta said.

"Oh, Vegeta," Zarbon said, his voice more distant now, moving down the hall. "I'd hate to disappoint you, but I would be shocked if Lord Frieza left even one piece for you."

"Kakarot."

Kakarot's eyes shot open at the surprising proximity of Vegeta's whisper.

Vegeta's dark eyes bore into Kakarot like a dagger into his soul as he pressed his face against the bars. "You may have _tried_ to rebel against Frieza's orders, but you leave that feat to a true Saiyan elite. The prince of all Saiyans will show the universe how it's done."

"Vegeta?" Kakarot gasped. "What do you mean by that?"

Vegeta's words, kept intently too low for Zarbon or Dodoria or any other guards to hear, seemed to imply the one thing Kakarot thought would never happen. If Vegeta planned to rebel against Frieza's control, he would need help. There was no way he could do this himself, even if he was elite and the prince of all Saiyans. As Vegeta scoffed through his teeth and turned away from Kakarot, Kakarot lunged at the bars, wrapping his fingers around the cold metal rods.

"Prince Vegeta!"

As the prince pressed his shoulders back and continued down the hall without even casting Kakarot a flinching glance, Kakarot growled and tightened his fingers around the bars. Vegeta's spiky-haired silhouette disappeared from sight as Dodoria leered toward Kakarot, poising his finger over the button of his scouter.

"You might want to let go of those bars," Dodoria said.

Kakarot bared his teeth, intending to insult the pink lump of lard to whom he'd always been forced to show respect. Given the current circumstance, he was finally free to express his true feelings toward Dodoria and Zarbon, and he wouldn't waste this opportunity. The second Kakarot opened his mouth, Dodoria touched his scouter. The bars gripped in Kakarot's palms loosed a sharp vibration and heat through his skin before they pulsed with power. The zap that followed sent a sharp wave of pain up Kakarot's arms which forced him to tighten his hold around the unbearable stimulation. When the power and pain reached unbearable, Kakarot was thrown from the bars. His back hit the cell wall with a thud before he fell to his knees, gasping for the air he'd been denied while his lungs contracted under that electric torment.

Zarbon and Dodoria laughed while Kakarot heaved a few breaths to resettle himself, but to his surprise, the humans did not. They gasped. They whimpered, probably fearing what touching their bars would do to _them_. But still, none of them laughed, like Kakarot might have if it was one of them. Chi-Chi even lunged toward him before catching herself and recoiling her outstretched hands into her chest. Kakarot caught his breath as he watched her, catching her eye briefly to see the worry in them before she looked away.

"Now stay down!" Dodoria shouted the moment his laughter tapered off. "Wait for Lord Frieza to see you."

"What about us?" Bulma yelled, lunging for the bars but wisely withdrawing her fingers toward her chin before making contact. "The prince even said we didn't steal anything of his. We should be free to go!"

Dodoria sent her a sly grin. "I'm sure Lord Frieza will want to see you people, too. You Earthlings will have to wait your turn."

"Why?" The scar-faced man growled at Dodoria. "We're innocent!"

Dodoria narrowed his eyes as he peered through the bars. "You still killed Cui. Without Lord Frieza's expressed permission, killing one of his best soldiers is a crime."

The Earthlings turned peevish glares on Chi-Chi, who crossed her arms and raised her chin.

"We didn't though," the little pig said, waving stubby fingers through the air as Dodoria turned his wide back on them. "We really didn't. Chi-Chi just made that up! Tell him, Chi-Chi!"

"It was Kakarot," the old man said, pointing a wiry rigid finger at Kakarot's cell.

Their calls went unheeded as Dodoria and Zarbon continued walking away, while the remaining guards looked on at the blubbering Earthlings with disinterest. A smile crossed Kakarot's face as he braced his hands behind his head and watched their spectacle. The pig and cat melting together in a heap on the floor, clinging to each other as they shuddered. It reminded him of his purge back on Earth.

The old man and young man continued yelling at the guards, while the two quieter men stood back, just as defeated as they were silent. The only person who didn't look defeated in that cell was the blonde, middle-aged woman who'd fed Kakarot back on their ship. Kakarot guessed there was something off about her. Even while living on Earth, he'd never encountered a person so resilient to her own defeat, yet so easily beaten.

When Kakarot's eyes lit on Chi-Chi, the smile melted from his face. The joy and entertainment he found in their suffering was sucked out of him when he looked at her solemn expression. Her black bangs were matted against her pale forehead, her dark eyes narrowed into a glare that looked more threatening than any look Kakarot had ever seen from an enemy. The Earthlings seemed to pick up on it too, because when she turned that glare on them, they shut up. Kakarot smiled at her.

With a grunt, she turned her glare on him. "Are you happy now? It looks like your Lord Frieza's going to kill us all. You'll get exactly what you want."

"He's not _my_ Lord Frieza. And I don't want him to kill you. Where's the fun in that?"

Bulma blinked her big blue eyes. "Fun?"

Kakarot shot her a wink. "I'm a hands-on type of guy."

"You're the Saiyan who purged our planet."

"Yeah. So?"

"We won't forget that," Bulma said.

"Ever," Chi-Chi added, sending Kakarot an even harsher glare than she'd sent him before.

Kakarot felt a thrill run through him under her gaze. For a woman insistent on hating him, she never backed down at any turn from turning him on. He started to wonder if she even realized how flirtatious she was with those threats and dirty looks.

Biting his lip, Kakarot took a deep breath and rose from his sitting position. "Well, I can't kill you all in here, so we'll need to work on getting outta these cells."

"You want to free us," the pig said, "so you can kill us?"

"Of course." Kakarot shrugged as the humans raised their brows at him. "You've got nothing to lose. You're all going to die if you stay in here anyway. At least out there, you've got a...minimal chance of escaping me."

"You really are a monster," the big man said. "You have no shame about killing all those people. Haven't you learned from your mistakes?"

Kakarot raised a brow. "What's your name again? Mule? Ox?"

"He's the Ox King," Chi-Chi said, placing her hands on her hips as her chest puffed up. "And he's my father."

"Oh," Kakarot said with a grin. "So did you tell him about _us_ yet?"

The Ox King raised a brow at Chi-Chi. "Told me about-"

"We need a plan if we're going to get out of here," Bulma said, casting Chi-Chi a glance. "I only wish I could get to my equipment on the ship."

As Bulma crossed her arms and frowned, Kakarot cocked his head, remembering the surprises these humans had thrown at him on the last few planets. "You mean like that ki bomb tech?"

As Bulma nodded, Chi-Chi stormed forward, coming face to face with Kakarot with only a set of ki-charged bars separting them. "Why'd you do it?"

"Huh?"

"I have to know," Chi-Chi said, her eyes softening. "Why did you kill all of those people? Why are you so deadset about coming after us? Why...what do you have against humans?"

"Nothing," Kakarot said. "I did it because it was my mission. And no Saiyan leaves a mission unfinished. Every living thing on Earth was supposed to die before I left the planet – and I failed."

"But..." Bulma said, exchanging an uneasy glance with the young man in her cell, "but you were just a kid."

Kakarot furrowed his brows, confused by the sad looks on all the humans' faces. He _was_ a kid. That was why it was such an impressive task, one to make a young warrior proud. Not many third class infants would've survived the unexpected challenges on Earth, but Kakarot had done it.

"I was a warrior. A Saiyan warrior. We don't fail our missions."

"Your mission? As an infant, you had a _mission_?" Chi-Chi clutched a hand to her chest and sank to her knees. "Oh, God. You never knew any better."

"Better than what?"

Licking her lips, Chi-Chi looked up to meet his gaze. "Better than the evil monsters you follow."

"I don't _follow_ ," Kakarot said. "I do what I please."

"But you were just a kid," Chi-Chi repeated, shaking her head. "You didn't know any different. Did your people really expect you to kill off an entire planet or consider yourself a failure?"

Kakarot groaned and rolled his eyes. "Of course they did. I know Earthlings weren't aware of life beyond Earth, but don't your people send your young to work? Don't they take pride in their missions?"

"Of _course_ not! Children are supposed to be taken care of and loved by their mothers."

"Were you?"

Chi-Chi's eyes widened before she lowered her gaze. "My mother - she died when I was a baby. But my father-"

"I took care of her," the Ox King said, stepping forward to place a hand on Chi-Chi's shoulder. "After my darling wife's passing, I swore to be the best father I could to Chi-Chi, though in hindsight, I didn't make the best choices toward other people."

"It's okay, Dad," Chi-Chi said, reaching up to squeeze the massive hand covering her shoulder. "You did the best you could - until a Giant Ape destroyed what little childhood you gave me, rampaging and killing all over the world."

At Chi-Chi's dirty look, Kakarot crossed his arms. "Why would that end your childhood? _You_ weren't one of the people killed."

"Because a human childhood is much different from a Saiyan childhood, apparently!"

Bulma stepped forward, pressing her lips together and shaking her head. "For years, the Great Ape killed us off little by little. I can't believe we're actually talking to him right now. I still can't believe we survived it."

Kakarot grunted. "Don't remind me. I was so close to finishing the job."

"Drop that already," Chi-Chi said. "Your prince only said you're incompetent to get under your skin. You're not incompetent because you let a few Earthlings survive. If anything," she said, her voice slowing as her lashes fluttered, "if it had actually been your doing, you should've been proud to show mercy in spite of your people looking down on it."

"Why?"

"Because choosing mercy is a powerful choice and it was the right thing to do."

Kakarot scoffed. "What do you know about the right thing to do? You just killed Saiyans you knew nothing about for money."

"It-" the scar-faced man sputtered, "it sounds like you knew them."

"You said you didn't know Brolly!" Chi-Chi said.

"I lied about him," Kakarot said, narrowing his eyes. "Just like Brolly told you."

Chi-Chi swallowed, the smooth lines of her throat moving beneath the shadows of the cell's dim lighting. "I'm sorry. If you knew him, I know how it is to see your friends killed. I-I never wanted to be a part of anything like that."

"No," Bulma added solemnly, "we didn't."

"Then why'd you do it?"

Chi-Chi's jaw tightened. "We-we have a mission to complete. We can't stop now. Besides," she said, raising her dainty chin, "Brolly was a Saiyan. We've spent enough time traveling this universe to realize what barbaric murderers Saiyans are."

Kakarot sent her a smirk. "Humans aren't much different."

"What?"

"You killed those bastards for your mission, not much different than me. I saw humans, during my time on Earth as a child, when the moon wasn't full," Kakarot said with a shrug. "People tried to kill me, an innocent-lookin' kid, almost everywhere I went. People murdered one another over personal reasons. They weren't any different from us Saiyans you despise so much."

"What - wait," Bulma said. "Those bastards? I thought you said they were your friends!"

Kakarot sent her a smirk. "I lied."

The scar-faced man balked. "What? Why lie about _that_?"

"To show you humans that you aren't the only ones who can play the sympathy card. Please, keep throwing your dumb sentiments about your lost humans at me. You don't care about those strangers." Kakarot furrowed his brows, recalling something Chi-Chi said earlier that still didn't make sense to him. "When you said, 'if it had actually been your doing', what did you mean by that?"

Chi-Chi hesitated, her chest heaving as the slightest sheen of perspiration highlighted her skin in the dim light. Kakarot kept his gaze focused on her as the other Earthlings fidgeted and exchanged uneasy glances. Kakarot licked his lips. He always suspected there was something these Earthlings had done to save themselves all those years ago, and now it was about to come out. He could practically taste it tainting the air with the tension between the Earthlings. They reeked of stress.

"If it had actually been your doing," Kalarot repeated with more insistence, "you did something to stop me from succeeding back on Earth, didn't you?"

Bulma raised her brows at the scar-faced man and Chi-Chi before meeting Kakarot's gaze with a sigh. "We had, back on Earth, a set of magical balls called Dragon Balls."

"Magical balls?" Kakarot gasped. "I knew it had to be magic! You witches cast a spell on me!"

"Now hold on, young man," the bald, wiry man said, wagging a finger. "There aren't any witches here. Only that blasted sister of mine who you killed back on Earth, though I suspect she never died. The old bat probably saved her own skin and escaped to the other world."

Kakarot blinked. "Huh?"

"We are not witches," Bulma said, narrowing her brows. "The Dragon Balls allowed us to make one wish, and let me tell you, it was a hell of an accomplishment for me to collect them from these people," she said as she gestured toward the others in her cell, "who had no idea what they had or what those balls could do."

"In my defense," the old man said, "I got that thing so long ago, I couldn't possibly remember if anyone ever told me it was special."

"They did, Master Roshi," said the mopey turtle in the corner.

"Shut up, you. You can't remember."

As the turtle rolled his eyes, the pig crossed his arms. "I thank my luck every day for my village's Dragon Ball I stole for Bulma. Without it, we never would've been able to make our wish to be invisible to you."

Kakarot raised a brow. "Invisible?"

"And invincible. To your senses," Bulma said with a grin, "your scouter, your radar, everything. As far as you were concerned, we were already dead."

"Only by the time we had all the Dragon Balls and made our wish," Chi-Chi said, wringing her hands together, "almost everyone else was dead. We couldn't save them."

The Ox King squeezed Chi-Chi's shoulder. "We did the best we could, honey."

"I knew it," Kakarot said, his breath coming in short pants with the life changing revelation. He had never been a failure. There was nothing he could've done to prevent the trickery of magic. "I knew there was no more life force on the planet!"

"We survived," Bulma said with a sly grin, "by outsmarting you. Not too hard to outsmart a dumb ape."

Kakarot glared through the charged bars. "Try saying that without these bars protecting you."

As Bulma gulped and stepped back, the scar-faced man wrapped his arms around her and sent Kakarot a glare.

"Yamcha," Bulma breathed.

Kakarot smiled. There would be no Dragon Balls to protect them here. Once he escaped this cell, the humans would be fair game. He could finally redeem himself.

"After Bulma and my husband started plans to rebuild the Earth," the blond woman said with a cheery tone, oblivious to the rising tension, "Bulma heard messages from space, saying more forces were coming to harvest resources from the Earth."

The old man's brows narrowed. "We decided we had to leave the Earth that day."

"We've been scavenging and scraping by in this universe ever since," Yamcha said.

Kakarot frowned. Humans were a particularly somber race. He didn't remember them that way from his years on Earth. Was this a result of his actions? Had they really allowed themselves to be so affected by the deaths of people of their race?

"I don't understand it," he said. "Is it the planet?"

"Huh?" Yamcha said.

"If a planet is really that important to you all, or if it's really those other people, it makes no sense to me. What did they matter to you?"

Master Roshi nodded. "Earth was a beautiful planet. Even after all this time in the universe, we've never seen anything that compares anywhere else."

Kakarot frowned. That was true. Even if it was never really his home, Kakarot admired the green grasses and blue skies filled with puffy clouds. The blazing sunlight and shimmering moon he could appreciate on the nights it wasn't full. He did miss the Earth, for all its food and wonders and excitement. Maybe, just a little, he could understand the humans' resentment for him taking that from them.

"But more importantly," Master Roshi said, "we had many friends who died, and knowing all those innocent people died is hurtful to us. Can you understand that, Kakarot?"

As Kakarot cocked his head, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of others' lives being more important than the impressive planet that was Earth, Chi-Chi hummed solemnly. "It's sad, knowing we're the last five survivors of a nearly extinct race."

Kakarot snorted. "That shouldn't matter. If I was the last of _two_ Saiyans, it still wouldn't matter to me."

"You say that now," Chi-Chi said, narrowing her eyes, "because there are so many others still around, like the brother you still have, according to the prince."

"I might actually prefer him and some others _not_ being around," Kakarot grumbled.

With a sigh, Kakarot averted his gaze to the bars separating his cell from the hall where the guards freely wandered, peeking in on this ongoing conversation with minute interest from time to time. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate again, but his thoughts kept returning to Chi-Chi's accusing glares, the sadness in her eyes, the heartfelt way she spoke of not only the Earth, but the people lost to his purge. Even those she hadn't known, she seemed to be mourning. All of the Earthlings here were. Kakarot had thought their sentiment to be an act. But as he opened his eyes and peered at them again through the bars, he could see their faces all remaining solemn, their thoughts clearly fixed on their failure or painful memories.

Kakarot remained silent. He knew they all needed to get out of here and soon, or else they would die slow, painful deaths at the hands of Frieza – especially him. Kakarot knew he would still need to kill these humans when they broke free from here, but the mission felt more like a job now than it ever had before. Closing his eyes again, he tried to focus on the energies outside their prison. He needed to know where everything and everyone was. He needed to focus. Or there would be no hope of escaping.


	13. Too Late

"What are we going to do?" the Ox King said, pacing the south end of their cell.

"I'm thinking," Bulma snapped, massaging the heel of her hand into her forehead as she sat on the ground, her legs crossed and Yamcha's hand resting on her thigh.

Yamcha's face was filled with worry, his eyes locked on Bulma. Puar rested on his shoulder, drooping forward and stroking his paw through Yamcha's long hair. Oolong sat with Master Roshi, both tracing escape routes on the ground with their fingertips. Mrs. Brief and Dr. Brief held a quiet conversation in the corner, but after catching bits and pieces of it between her own musings, Chi-Chi realized they were talking about something entirely different than the problem at hand. They still cowered and trembled, as everyone else did. Everyone but the Saiyan in the next cell. Goku, or Kakarot, or whatever his name was, sat still with his eyes closed, seemingly in tranquil meditation. Chi-Chi was glad he accepted his impending fate here (he deserved it), but _she_ was not about to rest and wait for Frieza.

Chi-Chi scowled as she turned heel to face his cell. "Hey, you!" When he didn't flinch or respond, she stomped her foot. "You! Kakarot! Goku!"

"What?"

"I'm not going to die in here!" Chi-Chi yelled, narrowing her eyes at him, wishing she could press her face against the bars or throw something through them. "Do _you_ know a way out? Or will you at least try to get out of here?"

He groaned and closed his eyes again. "I'm thinking. I need a way to reach my ship undetected."

Bulma crossed her arms. "You _kind_ of need to know how to escape that cell first, you know, just like the rest of us."

Goku grinned and tapped his forehead. "That part's easy."

Chi-Chi gasped as he disappeared right before her eyes. When something appeared in front of her - a wall of armored muscle clad in black elastic - Chi-Chi's eyes bulged. She crawled back, her palms scampering across the hard, dirty floor until her fingers hit her father. Her back pressed against the warmth of his broad form as she looked up the length of Goku's body, gaping at the impossibility.

Goku laughed before disappearing just as quickly as he'd appeared. When he reappeared back in his own cell, a singular applause rang out. Chi-Chi turned slowly, casting a peevish glare at Mrs. Brief. She found everyone else was gaping at the older woman too, aside from Dr. Brief, who joined his wife's applause. Chi-Chi bared her teeth as she turned toward Goku. He had just done something amazing. It was something none of them could possibly do.

 _They_ were trapped, he wasn't.

"If you can do that," Chi-Chi growled, "why don't you just leave? Why don't you kill us now that you have the chance?"

Bulma shot to her feet. "Even better, why don't you leave, but take us with you?"

"Babe," Yamcha muttered, "this guy wants to kill us, remember?"

"I was planning on it," Goku mumbled absently as his eyes darted around the perimeter of the cell, "but I don't know where my ship is, and I can't seem to sense anyplace nearby that isn't surrounded by guards."

"Hey!" Bulma said. "Why don't you tap into Prince Vegeta's energy? He's probably still here, right?"

Goku raised a brow. "Yes..."

"If Prince Vegeta's still here," Bulma said as a smile lit her face, "you'd have a better chance near him than appearing near the guards."

Goku averted his gaze, scoffing into his shoulder. "Vegeta will betray me. Besides, I don't want to show him this new skill yet. I'm better off taking my chances transmitting near a guard."

"I know you Saiyans are a bunch of backstabbers only out for yourselves," Yamcha said, "but there's gotta be a chance he'd help you. You've gotta know that your own people are a better choice than random guards, who are only here to lock you away and _keep_ you locked up until Frieza gets his hands on you."

Goku cocked his head. "Weren't you here when Prince Vegeta was threatening to kill me?"

Yamcha scoffed. "Yeah. Still...I got the impression he talks that way to you all the time."

Goku raised his brows, a smile lighting his face. "Yeah, well. I'm not seeing much better options, so what have I got to lose? I'll take my chances with the prince. I'll be back."

"Goku!" Chi-Chi flinched at her own intensity in addressing him. "Goku, be careful."

"Aw, and I thought you didn't like me anymore." He met Chi-Chi's eye and shot her a wink.

Chi-Chi's jaw fell as Goku lifted his fingers toward his forehead. She wanted to tell him adamantly that he still meant _nothing_ to her and she wanted him dead. She hated to give him the wrong impression. But as he disappeared from sight, she knew it was too late to say anything. Chi-Chi clenched her jaw. She wanted him to be careful for their sake, not for his. His success was their only chance of escaping this prison and fate after meeting Frieza. In spite of Goku's threatening demeanor, Chi-Chi would rather take her chances with _him_ than waiting in this cell.

She turned toward the others, clenching her fists. "He'd _better_ come back."

* * *

He did return, but not of his own accord, and not at all in the way Chi-Chi wanted him to. Carried by Dodoria, his boots dragging across the floor, Goku arrived unconscious. As the others gasped, Chi-Chi hurried to the front of her cell, needing a better look at him. The side of his head and face was smeared with blood. The clothing he wore was torn at the knees and forearms, his rugged battle armor cracked across the front plates. The low rumble of Dodoria's chuckle drew Chi-Chi's eyes to his smiling face. He sported a massive gash across his purple, cracked lip still oozing magenta blood.

Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes as she met his gloating gaze. At least she knew Goku hadn't gone down easily - not that she cared what happened to him. She blamed her satisfaction in his meager victory on the fact that at the moment, trapped behind these bars, she hated their jailers slightly more than she hated Goku. Chi-Chi was sure that would all change as soon as they were free. She looked back at her friends and bit her lip. Whether or not they would be freed of Frieza's impending punishment was becoming more questionable by the hour.

"Be patient, Earth men," Dodoria said before heaving Goku back into his cell and letting the limp body hit the ground with a thump that shook the entire cell block. "Lord Frieza will be with you shortly."

He slammed the cell door closed with a sharp clank. Like a dog satisfied by his kill, Dodoria turned away from them and disappeared down the hall.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Bulma approached Goku's cell. "Goku?"

"He-he didn't make it," the Ox King said, sounding more surprised than Chi-Chi thought he should be.

"Who are we kidding?" Yamcha said, knitting his brows as he stared down at Goku's unmoving body. "We couldn't expect anyone to escape those clods."

"Goku!" Bulma yelled, before shooting a glance over her shoulder at Yamcha. "He's not waking up. We need him to get us out of here!"

Oolong's eyes bulged before he stepped up to Bulma's side. "Wake up! Wake up, you dummy!"

"Chi-Chi," Bulma said, panting. "You wake him up."

"Me?" Chi-Chi crossed her arms.

"Yes, you!" Bulma said. "Maybe if he hears your voice, he'll respond."

"He's not going to respond to my voice just because we-" Chi-Chi paused when all eyes turned on her, looking too keenly aware of that which she was thinking and they shouldn't know. "Just...because - because we..."

"Fine," Bulma said with a scoff, rolling her eyes as she turned toward Goku. "Goku! We need you, you stupid Saiyan! Don't leave us to die in this cell!"

"No, of _course_ you can't let us die in this cell," Oolong said, crossing his arms. "So why don't you free us so you can finally finish us off yourself!"

"Shut up, Oolong!" Bulma snapped.

"Oh, Bulma," Mrs. Brief giggled. "Yelling at your friends won't help anyone, dear."

"Mom!"

Bulma panted as she turned desperate eyes on Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi couldn't recall a time she'd seen Bulma looking so pitiful. Gnawing the inside of her cheek, Chi-Chi turned her gaze on the others standing behind her, most of them with eyes full of dread. Chi-Chi couldn't stand the thought of Frieza arriving while they were trapped in this cell, witnessing Goku roused to consciousness only to be tortured to death right in front of their eyes, later being subjected to whatever cruel fate Frieza chose for them. Time was running out. Dodoria said Frieza was coming. And Chi-Chi knew no way out of this cell. Only Goku did.

"Shit," Chi-Chi drawled. "Goku! Goku, get up!"

Her eyes were fixed on him, but nothing happened. His legs remained sprawled in opposing directions, his left arm flopped to the side while his right arm laid across his gently rising and falling abdomen. Chi-Chi felt her features soften as she watched him. He looked like he did in the morning, when she'd woken up to see him sleeping beside her.

"Look," Bulma breathed.

Chi-Chi followed Bulma's outstretched finger to see Goku's hand, where his index finger twitched ever so slightly. The others gasped and sighed in relief.

"Goku," Chi-Chi said, leaning closer as a smile broke across her face. "Goku, we need you to get up. There's no other way out of here. Frieza's coming! There's no time for laying down! Now move your ass!"

Goku's twitching finger stilled, causing Chi-Chi to suck in a gulp of air. When his entire hand curled into a fist, Chi-Chi exhaled and clasped her hands together. The others let out a chorus of curt cheers as the Saiyan sat up, rubbing his wayward spikes of hair and looking around as if he'd never seen these cells before.

"Oh," he groaned, rubbing his head more vigorously.

"You know where you are now? Good," Chi-Chi said, not wasting a second to coddle him. "Now tell us what happened out there. Is Frieza going to kill us?"

"I dunno," he grumbled, failing to meet Chi-Chi's gaze.

"I'm talking to you!"

Chi-Chi slammed her palm against the bar, regretting it instantly as pain like she'd never felt before buzzed through her arm, burning the skin of her palm before throwing her back from the bars with a jolt.

"Chi-Chi!" Yamcha cried as Chi-Chi was caught in the protective cage of his arms.

"Yamcha," Chi-Chi said, her head lolling back as her weakened body went limp in his arms.

"Hey!" Goku called from across the cell, sounding angry. "What are you, crazy? You can't touch those bars."

"She realizes that," Bulma said tersely, "obviously, geez. Chi-Chi, you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Chi-Chi said, trying to rub her pounding head and realizing she wasn't alright, even as she said she was. "I just nee-"

"Sh, Chi," Yamcha said, lowering her to rest on the floor, "you're going to be alright. Take it easy."

"Oh, Chi-Chi," her father said, her shoulders bounced and jostled as his massive knees landed at her side. "Keep it together, honey. You need to listen to Yamcha."

"Yamcha," Goku snorted. "Okay."

"You got a problem?" Bulma said.

"Not yet," Goku said, crossing his legs into a casual sitting position as he shot Bulma a smile. "But I will. Soon, we all will, if I don't find a way out of here." He sighed. "We're all about to die, slowly and painfully. What Chi-Chi just went through, what I even just went through out there was nothing in comparison."

"But-but," Oolong said, his voice trembling as much as his knees, "Lord Frieza's gotta let us go, right?"

Goku laughed. "He doesn't have to do anything. He's Frieza."

"There-there must be some way," Bulma said, pausing to cast Yamcha a worrisome glance. "He must be willing to listen to persuasion, don't you think?"

"If it's the kind of persuasion I think you're talking about," Yamcha said, scowling at Bulma, "then no."

Bulma gulped and lowered her gaze to Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi sighed, wishing she could summon the strength to sit up. That power in those bars was fantastic. She supposed it had to be, if it was meant to hold Saiyans and warriors stronger than them. She cradled her wrist in her opposite hand before massaging her injured palm, trying to wield away the pain of her burns.

A bang sounded from the other side of the cell block, the same place where they'd heard the door slam shut after Goku's return. Chi-Chi was overwhelmed by a surge of adrenaline that allowed her to sit upright without Yamcha's help. She looked to her friends, her eyes bulging as expectations coursed through her mind. Her friends' shoulders tensed. Their eyes looked as large and wary as she knew hers had to be. When she looked to Goku, the Saiyan was scowling, but his dark eyes seemed full of acceptance. She didn't believe he would go down easily, but somehow, he was not afraid.

"If you want my advice," Goku said, meeting her gaze, though he was clearly addressing all of them, "don't let Frieza's pleasantries fool you. The kinder he acts, the meaner he'll be." He shot a glance down the hall at the sound of footsteps approaching, echoing off the walls like every step closer announced the approaching end of their existence in this universe. Goku's eyes narrowed. "He isn't going to let anyone go, no matter what he tells you."


	14. Out

The staccato beats of slow clapping bounced off the cell walls and the bars surrounding him, drawing nearer with every beat. Kakarot masked his face, knowing all too well what showing weakness to Frieza would do to him. He had just enough time to get out. But where would he transport himself? Vegeta would only fight him again, and Kakarot couldn't lock onto any of the weak energies of the unfamiliar natives, not with all of the stronger ki of the guards and soldiers around. Escaping here now would only make things more difficult for him when he was dragged back.

Kakarot had to know he wasn't coming back, or not leave at all. Yet as the footsteps neared and a group of silhouettes appeared in the hall, Kakarot _wanted_ out of here. His heart rate quickened beneath his stoically-masked exterior as his eyes met Frieza's. Frieza's face might've been cast in a smile as his hands drew to a stop, cradling each other gently with the final hollow clap, but he couldn't hide the fury in his eyes.

"Congratulations are in order, I hear," Frieza said, absorbing the awed faces in Kakarot's neighboring cell before setting his gaze directly on Kakarot. "No one has ever escaped this prison before, as Zarbon and Dodoria informed me. Too bad for you, you didn't make it off the planet, Kakarot."

"Yeah," Kakarot mumbled, refusing to tear his gaze from Frieza for even a second. "Too bad."

"I admit, I'm impressed by this little stunt of yours. Where did you learn to," Frieza paused to flutter his eyes and spread his fingers, "disappear like that? Absolutely a marvelous trick."

"Yardrat."

"Yardrat?" Frieza said with a gasp, before turning to look at Dodoria and Zarbon's expressions turning wary. "The people of Yardrat are dead now."

"Of course they are," Kakarot said, having trouble not smirking at the irony, "you ordered my crew to kill them for their planet, remember?"

"And yet," Frieza said, his eye visibly developing a twitch, "you had the time to learn something from these people?"

Kakarot shrugged. He was in enough trouble already, so there was no need to be careful with his words. "The food there was great, and there was plenty of it, so we weren't exactly in a hurry. The Yardratians could eat-"

"Ugh." Frieza sneered. "Enough. I don't need to hear of the disgusting eating habits of monkeys."

Kakarot stilled, pressing his lips together as he waited. That word - _monkeys_ \- it was almost worse than any insult he received about being inadequate or failing to finish his first purge. He had to squash the impulse to lunge at the bars and attack Frieza through them. It wouldn't work, with the ki powering the bars. But even if it would, Kakarot knew it would do him no good. He'd witnessed too many times what happened to soldiers who lashed out at Frieza. Not a single one had ever managed to hit him.

Frieza folded a hand behind his back as he turned to the other cell. "And what do we have here, Zarbon?"

"Nobody, my Lord," Zarbon answered, eliciting deep frowns from the Earthlings huddled together in their cell.

Frieza cast Zarbon a smirk. "Doesn't look like nobody."

Zarbon smiled as he bowed his head. "They claim to be humans - Earthlings, to be more precise."

"Earthlings? Earth, that rings a bell," Frieza said as he cast Kakarot a smile, his eyes lighting. "How amusing! Isn't that the planet you failed to capture on your first mission for your king?"

"I _didn't_ ," Kakarot growled, his teeth gnashing, "fail to capture it."

"But," Frieza turned to the humans with a smile, gesturing at them with a graceful wave of his hand, "there are Earthlings here, all these years later. Tell me, Earthlings. How did you survive? Or did Kakarot _choose_ to let you live?"

"Yeah, right," Bulma scoffed.

"Bulma," Yamcha hissed, "be careful."

"What?" Bulma snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "It's not like he has anything to threaten us with. We've lost everything already."

Chi-Chi gasped. "Bulma!"

As Chi-Chi knit her brows and cocked her head at Bulma, Kalarot raised a brow at their interaction. The humans were acting strangely. From what he'd seen of Bulma so far, the woman was smart and prepared. It was how she'd evaded Kakarot at every turn. But what she just said, well it was stupid, said without reservation. It was obvious that Chi-Chi and the other humans were confused by her words. But Kakarot had a more important problem than understanding Earthling thinking, and it was standing right in front of him. He narrowed his eyes as his focus turned back to Frieza.

"Oh," Frieza said to the humans, a grin spreading across his face, "you'd be surprised what I can do to you. But why should I?"

"They killed Cui, my Lord," Dodoria said.

"Cui?" Frieza hummed. "Oh."

"Oh?" Zarbon said.

"Dodoria, what sort of completion record did Cui hold?"

Dodoria's brows raised as his finger flew to his scouter. "Oh, uh...Cui...Cui..." his brows knit as numbers flashed across his scouter lens. "Ninety-five percent, Lord Frieza."

Frieza eyes bulged, his dark lips forming a tiny 'o'. "That is a shame, then. One of my best men." He turned a glare on the Earthlings, the darkness of his upper lip pulling up to reveal the whites of his teeth. "And now I have these weaklings. Hardly an even exchange."

"Would you like us to dispose of them for you, Lord Frieza?" Dodoria asked, glaring at the humans and driving his fist into his palm as if muddling ingredients in his bare hands.

"Or we could take them in for slave labor," Zarbon said.

"Slave labor?" Bulma whispered to Chi-Chi as the Earthlings all went rigid.

Kakarot couldn't blame them. Some positions of enslavement under the Planet Trade Organization - the ones likely destined for these weak humans - were worse than death. Being a Saiyan, Kakarot had the privilege of working as a warrior. It was better, but not by much. Many a time, Frieza's arrangement with King Vegeta cost Kakarot. It had cost him dearly.

After peering at the humans, Frieza swiped a manicured finger beneath the curve of his pale chin. "I'll have to think on what to do with them. After all," he said with a leering smile, "I wasn't expecting such a surprise. It's this monkey I came here for."

As Frieza whirled on his heels to face Kakarot, Kakarot's chest clenched. He knew the penalty for costing Frieza a planet. Soldiers had died for far lesser offenses. A low growl rose in his throat as the coldness of Frieza's glare set upon him. Knowing what was bound to happen wouldn't stop Kakarot from fighting. He wouldn't go down easily, and as a matter of fact, knowing the inevitability of his punishment lent him a rare opportunity. He had the freedom to finally tell Frieza what he really thought of him. He could say all the things he'd been holding back for years - if only he could do the same to King Vegeta before dying here, this could be perfect. Kakarot had a lot of unsettled business with _that_ asshole, even if the king did what he did solely out of fear of Frieza. Frieza _was_ here - the source of Kakarot's problems - he would have to be enough.

Kakarot met Frieza's glare with all the hostility he'd kept hidden over the years. "If I'm a monkey, Frieza-"

"Frieza?" Frieza snarled.

"-then you're a lizard. It's only fair."

Zarbon surged forward. "You will address Lord Frieza by his proper title, scum!"

A sharp, burning sensation pierced Kakarot's shoulder, but as he looked past Zarbon's glowing finger to his sneering face, Kakarot refused to give him the satisfaction of any flinch or grimace, even as the pain spread down his arm and into his chest.

He raised a mocking brow. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Why, you!"

With the minutest raise of Frieza's arm, Zarbon's lit hand of gathered ki, his vile sneer, and his progress toward Kakarot's cell bars were all halted. As Dodoria balked and Zarbon froze, Frieza pressed Zarbon's hand gently down to his side.

"Wait, Zarbon," Frieza said, smiling at Kakarot. "I might want to hold onto him a little longer."

Dodoria scowled. "Lord Frieza?"

"Just long enough to learn that disappearing trick."

Kakarot groaned when Frieza set those red eyes, glistening with contempt, on him. He would never teach Frieza to teleport. Even if Frieza wasn't the most horrible living thing roaming this universe, the technique was not easy to teach. Kakarot had taken a long time to learn it, in secret from his comrades too busy indulging in Yardrat's food to be aware of what he was up to. Now, with Frieza, Zarbon and Dodoria staring him down, he had no intentions of repeating the teaching he'd been granted. The universe didn't need Frieza appearing wherever he wanted at any time. Kakarot would rot in hell before he'd share that knowledge with this freak. Turning a stoic gaze on the tyrant, Kakarot folded his arms across his chest.

"You will teach me."

"I teach you, and then you kill me. Is that the deal?"

Frieza smirked. "A major improvement over your destiny of dying right this moment, isn't it?"

"Let me think. No."

"No?"

"Lord Frieza," Zarbon said, casting the growling tyrant a placating look. "Please allow me to persuade him."

Frieza ignored Zarbon and lunged toward Kakarot, his left eye twitching. "Need I remind you what a rebellious nuisance you've become lately, Kakarot. Just like your father."

"Frieza," Kakarot growled, "don't talk about my father."

Frieza chuckled. "The monkey doesn't fall far from his father's branches."

Kakarot had moved on from his father. He didn't want to hear anymore about that senseless punishment! Kakarot screamed as Frieza's pompous titter grew to a raucous laugh echoed by Zarbon and Dodoria's giggling.

The Earthlings gaped at their interaction while Zarbon and Dodoria smirked, as if it was any place of _theirs_ to do so. King Vegeta and Frieza were the only ones who could take credit for his father's meaningless, cold blooded slaughter. _They_ were the reason Kakarot was driven to kill time and time again with no mercy, for fear if he ever failed again, the same punishment which had befallen his father might one day be re-enacted on his brother or worse, his widowed mother.

"You all must be so confused. Allow me to catch you up," Frieza said, cutting off as Kakarot let loose a growl. "Don't you know it's rude to carry on a private conversation in mixed company? These Earth people can hardly know our history. I killed Kakarot's father," Frieza said with a conversational lilt to his tone as he cast a smile at the Earthlings. "You see, back when Kakarot failed to complete his purge of your Earth, he was quite the disappointment. When he made his second mistake, he needed to be taught. I find punishment is the best way to control child warriors. Wouldn't you agree it worked rather well, Kakarot?"

"Yeah," Kakarot scoffed. "Real well. That's how we've wound up here."

"True," Frieza conceded with a scowl. "Until now, you and your team have maintained an impeccable record. What's changed?"

As Kakarot shrugged, not caring to honor Frieza with an answer to that question, Frieza's brows narrowed. He let loose a low, rumbling growl which, with an aggressive move forward, signaled to Kakarot that the time for talking had ended. Kakarot scurried backward, his palms scuffing on the hard surface of his cell floor until his back hit the jagged rock of the back wall as far from Frieza's stomping approach as possible. He didn't need to rely on the safety of the bars between them any longer, nor could he, as Frieza's palm flew forward and his ki melted a row of bars away without Frieza needing to slow his approach in the slightest.

Kakarot winced at the sight of Frieza's face inches in front of his for a mere second before he was seized by the top of his head. Pain shot through his scalp and brought tension to the back of his neck as he was pulled to his feet by his hair. He was just high enough to be at Frieza's eye level with his weight fully supported, not by his feet still draped on the ground, but by an ounce of Frieza's massive strength.

"What's changed now," Frieza repeated, "to make you feel you had the choice to abandon your assignment without permission?"

"Go to hell."

Frieza laughed. "I plan to, eventually, unless immortality hits me first."

Frieza's fist drew back in such a rapid flash of movement, Kakarot was surprised he saw it before the pain registered. As he fell to the ground, skidding across the gravelly terrain, Kakarot groaned. The pain was like a knife jammed in his stomach, with a million shards of glass spreading through all his internal organs, moving without ever stopping or relenting their painful torment. He rolled to his side and cried out, curling into a ball when his movements and the expansion of his lungs only worsened the pain.

"Hey!" Chi-Chi's voice, harsh and stern, a contrast to Frieza's calculated calmness. "Why don't you let his king deal with him?"

"Hm?" Frieza said, his footfall stopping just inches short of Kakarot's face.

"If he disobeyed orders," Chi-Chi said, logical hesitance finally creeping into her voice, "doesn't King Vegeta report that to you? Shouldn't Kakarot report to him?"

With a low growl, Frieza turned his back on Kakarot. "I admit, that is usually how it should be done, but Kakarot disrespected both of my men. I can't stand idly by."

"You Earthlings," Zarbon said, "no longer have a planet, however. That leaves your punishment in the hands of Lord Frieza himself. You can consider yourselves wards of his empire."

"Not like they matter," Dodoria added, while Kakarot rubbed his injured stomach and prepared to gather his power for the moment when it might be needed. "Their race is nearly extinct. Nearly."

Kakarot hissed through his teeth, both from the pain and out of spite for Dodoria. He already knew he was in this situation because of failing to kill for Frieza on several occasions now. Nothing would remind him of that more than the crowd of people who inhabited the cell next to him.

"Who better to punish Kakarot for this direct disrespect," Zarbon said with a sly smile, "and these Earthlings for killing one of his best soldiers, than Lord Frieza himself?"

"I killed Cui," Kakarot growled, to his surprise as much as the Earthlings. "I did that all on my own."

Frieza grunted. "You?"

"Kakarot!" Chi-Chi shouted, her voice adamant enough that Kakarot could picture her eyes narrowed and her temple pulsing before he forced his gaze up from the ground to see the very sight he'd imagined. "You bastard! Why would you stick your neck out for us when you're clearly the one in more danger here?"

"Chi-Chi!"

As Bulma shushed her, Kakarot stared into Chi-Chi's dark eyes, which were no longer characterized by fire, but now lit with a different emotion. These humans, always so emotional. Maybe their emotions were the reason they sometimes made no sense. Chi-Chi had nothing to gain defending Kakarot. She had every reason to hate him for what he'd done to her planet. Yet for some reason, she seemed deeply upset by the idea of Frieza hurting him any further. Kakarot wished he could warn her. They'd hardly scratched the surface of what he was in for, and trapped in that cell, the humans would have front row seats to his punishment, whether they liked it or not. Kakarot sneered at the bitter irony. After all the time this group had likely spent helpless to watch him butcher their people, they were now reluctant to watch _him_ butchered by another.

" _You_ killed Cui," Frieza repeated, a smirk spreading across his face as Kakarot looked up into those eyes sparking with passion - passionate hatred.

Frieza drew his foot back. Kakarot tensed. The impact to his ribs was far greater than he'd anticipated as he was tossed onto his back.

"You stupid monkey!" Frieza kicked again. "Will you never learn? You're worth nothing to me!" He kicked again, and Kakarot tasted blood filling his mouth. "You're worth nothing even to your stupid ape of a ruler, King Vegeta!"

Through bared teeth and eyes squeezed shut, Kakarot bore his torment without a sound. Every thump and rattle of his bones pulled another wheeze from his unwilling lungs, every burn of laser-sharp ki made him suck air through his teeth, but he refused to cry out. The greatest pain came from the insults, which streamed from Frieza's mouth more fluently than the Saiyan language flowed off Kakarot's native tongue. The saving grace of a distraction from his pain came from the humans. Kakarot watched, through the lines of his lashes pressed together and the shaking of his body, as Bulma whispered to Chi-Chi. He wondered what they were talking about, their eyes glued to him, wide with horror.

Maybe they were concocting a plan to interrupt this, so Kakarot might have a chance to survive. Maybe they were hoping he would die soon, so they could finally have revenge on the Saiyan who'd altered their peaceful lives so drastically. Maybe they would save him solely for the purpose of using him for their escape. They'd already made it clear they couldn't get out. They valued his ability to teleport, at least. As Frieza's foot once again wedged between his busted ribs, fracturing him into more pieces, Kakarot decided they could go ahead and use him. Frieza's tail whipped across his throat and wrapped around, compressing him until the air caught in his lungs and froze there. He would do anything for someone to end this now. His lungs burned with the loss of oxygen.

Everything went silent before it went dark.

* * *

"Goku! Kakarot!"

Kakarot's eyes fluttered open, the blackness of unconsciousness replaced by the dim lighting of his cell and every dirt-filled crevice of the hard floor at his face. Chi-Chi's call repeated in his mind. He wondered if he'd dreamed it. He thought he'd died, but then with a groan, he realized Frieza would've kept him barely alive for the purpose of fulfilling Frieza's wishes.

"This is your chance to teleport out of here. Get up!"

The faint echo of footsteps approached before Bulma's voice chimed in and even closer to him, the bars rattled. "Hurry up, you dummy. They're coming!"

Kakarot raised his gaze toward the line of the hall where the footsteps drew nearer. That slightest movement made his body scream in protest. The shadows of approaching silhouettes lined the distant walls. Out of his peripherals, Kakarot could see the humans gathered together, Chi-Chi up front with her hands clutched to her chest, her pretty face washed with dread.

The old man leaned toward him and beckoned him upward with his waving hands. "We're trying to save your sorry ass. Now move!"

"What's going on down there?"

Kakarot's eyes darted toward the sound of Dodoria's voice. The figures were drawing nearer, increasing their haste as they apparently overheard the voices. Kakarot grit his teeth. They must've left him unconscious here, only to return to take him to Frieza for his "training". Kakarot knew going with them would mean accepting his fate. He wasn't ready to die yet, but he didn't know what good teleporting would do. He was in no condition to fight. If his first attempt to escape by teleporting hadn't worked, he had no reason to believe he'd find success this time. The hurried pace of the footsteps and the sights of Zarbon and Dodoria's faces forced Kakarot to make a rash decision. He raised his forefingers to his forehead, casting the humans an appreciative look before fixing on the nearest weak ki he could lock onto outside the jail.

Kakarot's ears caught the outraged roar of Dodoria's voice before his surroundings were replaced by the dusky pink sky of Chelfiss and piles of metal scraps. A swollen-faced, wrinkled old lady stared at him, hovering near his elbow. Her chest heaved as her eyes bulged and she backed away from him. Kakarot could see the prison's exterior. He knew if he didn't do something, his location was going to be given away before he had a chance. Zarbon and Dodoria would have the whole fleet of guards searching for Frieza's escaped prisoner.

Kakarot slapped a hand over the woman's wrinkled lips, hissing at the pain of his sudden movement. "Be quiet and I won't hurt you."

Kakarot felt his lungs expand and compress rapidly against his injured ribs as he looked left, right, up and down the alley ahead of him, anywhere he could for something he could use to get out of here. He needed a way off this planet, and fast. When a guard slunk across the distant alleyway, clicking his scouter and mumbling something into it, Kakarot sucked in a gasp of air. His fingers clenched around the woman's leathery skin, her mouth expelling hot air against his palm.

"Dammit," he hissed. He locked eyes with the pulsating pupils of the old woman. "Do you know any way to sneak safely off this planet?"

As the woman's lips trembled beneath his palm, her head turned rapidly side to side. She was useless. This whole escape was useless. Kakarot could barely stand after that number Frieza did on him. He needed help.

"Help," he breathed, his eyes panning to the sky.

A muffled hum of protest came from the old woman's lips. Kakarot didn't bother to assure her he hadn't been talking to her. He knew where to find his help. He didn't know what good they would do him or if they were capable of outrunning Frieza, but he knew they had a ship - and no choice but to help him. With a scoff, Kakarot withdrew his touch from the woman to press his fingers to his forehead and focus on the humans. He snorted, unamused by the cruel turn of having to put himself back _in_ the jail after so narrowly escaping it.

Help!" the old woman yelled, bolting away from him in a waddle of a run. "He's over here! The pris-"

Kakarot appeared in the jail cell, the harsh lines of gray vertical bars replacing the tranquil pink sky of the outdoors. He found the humans in a huddle, their backs turned to him. The humans didn't realize he'd arrived. Kakarot looked around. Even more fortunate for him, no one else realized he was here either. The place was vacated of guards. They must've all been out looking for him.

"Let's face it," Bulma said, drawing Kakarot's attention to the huddle. "In his condition, Goku's not making it back here. We're dead if we wait on him."

"Fine," the pig said. "Got any other plans, genius?"

"I do," Chi-Chi said. "I noticed some ships docked outside, when we were on the way in here."

Bulma gasped. "Yeah, she's right! I can map out the place, so I should be able to find a way there."

"To the ships?" the old man said. "But how do you expect us to use any of them?"

"If they're anything like the other PTO ships we've hijacked in the past," Bulma said animatedly, "I should be able to take one, no problem."

"Yeah!" Yamcha said. "I know how to hardwire PTO ships. Piece of cake."

"Or," Kakarot said, grinning when everyone whirled to face him, "I can get you out of here and straight into your own ship."

Chi-Chi's jaw dropped. "You - what are you-?"

Yamcha narrowed his eyes. "Like we'd trust y-"

"You'll get us out of here?" Bulma said, brushing past Yamcha. "Then let's go. We need to move."

Bulma," Yamcha scoffed.

"In exchange," Kakarot said, "you'll hide me from Frieza's ships and heal me."

"Won't have much of a choice," Bulma said with a shrug. "We'll be good as dead if we're discovered outside this cell. Especially if we're caught harboring you."

Kakarot scowled. He knew if those Earthlings were smart, they'd turn on him the moment they were safe. "I don't trust you."

Chi-Chi cleared her throat and crossed her arms as her dark hair whipped across her face. "We don't trust you, either, since you've made it clear you want to kill us."

"Not right now, I don't."

A fierce pain seized him, reminding him of the reason he needed the Earthlings' help. Kakarot groaned and folded inward, clutching his stomach. Audible gasps surrounded him, carrying through the cell as someone bent at his side, their hand hovering just short of touching his arm. Kakarot reached up and seized it. Chi-Ch's soft hand was instantly recognizable, warm in his grasp, reminding him of the night they'd shared. He wished he could go back to that night. This would've been so much easier if he'd killed her then.

"Everyone needs to make contact," Kakarot said, looking only at Chi-Chi as he squeezed her fingers in his, "unless they want to stay behind and take their chances with Zarbon and Dodoria."

Bulma lunged for Chi-Chi's other hand, while the old man toppled over Bulma, wrapping his palms around her hips. As the other Earthlings scrambled to find contact, Kakarot looked into Chi-Chi's eyes. She met his gaze with worry, uncertainty, and fear.

He turned to seek Bulma's gaze, setting his jaw. "You promise to heal me fully?"

"Uh! Well," she said with a grimace.

"That's the deal," Kakarot growled, "or we're not going anywhere."

"We'll heal you! Bulma!" Yamcha said, sending his girlfriend a pleading look. "We need to get out of here _now_ , you said it yourself. As it is, we don't even know if we'll have a chance to pilot the Hope ship off this planet."

"Fine," Bulma scoffed. "You've got a deal. You get us off this planet alive, and we won't kill you."

Kakarot's mouth twitched in a tiny smile. "Good."

He closed his eyes, his fingertips pressing into his skin as he focused his mind on the area surrounding the Earth-ship docked not far from them. All he needed to do was find a source of life as close to it as possible. The moment he locked onto the slightest life force, Kakarot seized that energy and transported himself with all the Earthlings in tow.

The effort took a lot out of him - more than he had the stamina to carry on without. The moment his feet hit the warm concrete of the docking area, he went limp and his eyes fell closed. His last thought was that the manipulative Earthlings were going to kill him while he was vulnerable. It would be the smart thing for them to do.

This would all be for nothing.


	15. A Fantasy

Chi-Chi couldn't calm herself. Even being in the darkness and quiet of space now, not another ship or planet in sight, she couldn't forget the ships which had pursued them from Chelfiss, the harrowing escape to avoid them, or the explosion of the ship Master Roshi had been forced to fire upon. The Hope ship was cloaked now, using Dr. Brief's latest invention to mask themselves from further pursuit of Lord Frieza's soldiers. But the efficacy of that technology wasn't the thing worrying Chi-Chi. She couldn't stop thinking about the unconscious man residing in their sick bay, hooked to Bulma's rendition of a healing tank built years ago for their crew's utilization. She couldn't stop thinking that _he_ was the cause of their ongoing pursuit. That the sooner he was off their ship, the better. Not only for their safety from Lord Frieza, but for their progress to Namek and for their safety from _him_.

"How much longer is it gonna take, Bulma?" Chi-Chi asked, tapping her foot.

"I don't know, Chi-Chi," Bulma growled as she punched at the keys of the control panel, recalculating their destination. "I copied the programming for the PTO healing tanks exactly, but it's setup for human DNA. I altered it the best I could to Saiyan biology for Goku. Who knows how long it'll take, though, or if it'll even work."

" _Make_ it work!" Chi-Chi stomped her foot. "The sooner that Saiyan's off this ship, the better."

"Excuse me for not filling our limited storage space with Saiyan DNA, Chi-Chi! It's not like I thought we'd ever need or _want_ to heal one of them."

"Well, now we do. If only to get him off this ship."

Yamcha swiveled in his chair beside Bulma, resting a hand on Bulma's shoulder as he narrowed his eyes at Chi-Chi. "I'd like to get him off this ship in another way entirely."

"Yamcha's got a point," Oolong said, his voice carrying from the entry where he stood beside Master Roshi. "We've got the creep who destroyed Earth right under our fingers. He. Is. _Kakarot_! I don't know why you girls are still calling him Goku."

As Oolong crossed his arms, Chi-Chi winced at the reminder of Kakarot's disturbing history. She exchanged a glance with Bulma's solemn blue eyes, knowing exactly why Bulma continued to call him by his false-given Earth name. It was easier to be humane when thinking of him as Goku. Thinking of him as Kakarot gave Chi-Chi the instant urge to run into the med bay and strangle that unconscious man until he choked on his last breath. But she was better than that. That was the sort of thing a Saiyan would do. _They_ were far better than Saiyans. They had made a deal with this Saiyan, and they would stick to their word.

"If we kill him now," Master Roshi said, "there would be no need to wait for him to heal. We could drop his body off on some remote planet, freeing ourselves from Lord Frieza's radar."

"Are you willing to live with that?" Bulma challenged.

"We made a deal with him," the Ox King said, casting Chi-Chi a worrisome glance. "Don't you all remember? We'd still be in Lord Frieza's jail if it wasn't for him."

Chi-Chi nodded, giving the others a warning grunt. "No one touches the Saiyan."

As her eyes panned across the faces of the others, Chi-Chi chewed her bottom lip. Not all of them looked convinced. Even Bulma, who Chi-Chi truly believed to be taking her side, seemed dubious in her determination to keep their Saiyan passenger alive. Chi-Chi didn't know why she should fight this. Honor be damned, the universe would be better off without a scoundrel like him in it. But his conversation with Lord Frieza gnawed at her. It wasn't all his choice. He never knew anything different, and he was judged for being _less than_ on the occasions when he wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Chi-Chi couldn't forget that.

Lord Frieza had killed Goku's father as punishment for his repeated failure to exterminate a planet. Why had he repeated the mistake? Was he really that incompetent? Or had he, to some extent, possibly _wanted_ to fail his missions? If he had, the desire she held to kill and destroy him would fade. She couldn't think of herself as a person who would kill a man raised from birth to be a killer, who fought against that system when he could. She shook her head. She was being a hopelessly stupid romantic, thinking he could be anything good. She knew some part of her wished for there to be a chance between them, as unlikely as it seemed. But he was Kakarot. She couldn't let herself forget that or excuse it, no matter what else happened in his past.

* * *

Hours later in the depth of night, Chi-Chi sighed as she entered the dimly-lit med bay, taking one last precautionary glance over her shoulder as she crossed the threshold. She didn't want anyone to know she was paying their patient a visit, not after the fight she'd put up to keep him alive. Not with Bulma (and maybe the others by now) knowing their past history together. She couldn't help it, though. She had to see him. As she looked upon his face, she knew why she'd been drawn here. He was more beautiful when he was unconscious. With his eyes closed and his hard features softened, Chi-Chi could see the man behind the killer she knew. She hadn't been able to sleep, knowing he was only rooms away. In these late hours when Yamcha piloted the ship and everyone else slept, she could get away with this quick visit without ever being discovered.

Chi-Chi tilted her head as she slid to the side of his hospital bed, resting her fingers on the cold metal slab. The IVs hooked to him were nothing like the liquid-filled tanks of the healing chambers he was accustomed to, but it was the closest situation they could manage to recreate that awesome technology on this ship with their limited supplies. It was amazing that Dr. Brief and Bulma were able to work together to fashion such an invention for their benefit at all. Now it ironically would bring life back into the very man who put them on this ship, the cause of their limited resources.

"I can't believe you're really Kakarot," Chi-Chi whispered into the darkness, her voice punctuated by the quiet whirring of the healing machine. "I have so many things to say to you about what you've taken. I wish you were awake, so I could _really_ give you a piece of my mind."

Her eyes wandered across his form, absorbing the rising and falling of his scabbed, bare chest, where electrodes clung to his bruised skin and wires draped across his arms and shoulders. His fingers were laxed at his sides, the digits of his right hand so close to Chi-Chi's, she need only extend her fingers to touch him. She wouldn't dare. Touching was one step closer to feeling for him. She felt she was dangerously close to that edge already. Her lips twitched as a thought occurred to her.

He wasn't awake, and he couldn't hear her. Therefore, he wasn't really _that Kakarot_ right now. She didn't have much to look forward to in the ways of planning a future in this universe, not as long as their wish on Namek wasn't fulfilled. It couldn't hurt to fantasize for just a moment, no matter how far from reality that fantasy might be. She could have what she always wanted, if only for a moment, if only in her mind.

Leaning forward, Chi-Chi locked her eyes on Goku's closed lids and imagined them opening to light shining eyes on her smiling face. "I wish you were real. Not the real you - Kakarot - but the person you made up to make me feel like you were from Earth. You would promise to marry me, of course. After stealing a girl's virtue, on Earth, it would be the only proper thing to do."

She imagined he agreed, though she knew a Saiyan would have no idea about the special meaning behind this sacred promise.

"We would have children, you and I. I've always wanted lots of them, you know, even before - well, never mind that."

Chi-Chi had to take a breath and close her eyes. The brief remembrance of the events which changed her life unsettled her, regardless of her effort to disregard them for the sake of this fantasy. She conjured flowery meadows to the forefront of her mind, surrounded by trees of green and blue-white streams. The imaginary trickle of water and warmth of the sun's rays caused a smile to creep across her face. When Chi-Chi was able to insert a little dome-shaped home made of cow dung into the fantasy, ringing with the sounds of children's laughter, her smile grew wider.

"That's Goku and Chi-Chi's house, they would say. Out in the mountains. Could you imagine Bulma and Yamcha coming to visit?" Chi-Chi smiled upon Goku's parted lips, which she could easily imagine moving into a smile under the flashing illusion of white lights playing across his face from the monitors just behind him. "They would be married by then, too. Probably have a family of their own. You know, you've never been properly introduced to my father, but I think he would like-"

Chi-Chi's words caught in her throat as a clink sounded from the hall. The airy sound of a door hatch sealing closed would've escaped her ears, had she not been keenly aware of someone else awake at this late hour. Clutching her fingers into the cold metal slab on which Goku slept, Chi-Chi listened for more movement. There was a chance this person awake in the dead of night was headed elsewhere, simply slipping out of their room for a late night pee or to take over Yamcha's shift at the controls. But as footsteps tapped and echoed, she knew they were heading in her direction - _away_ from the other conceivable destinations.

"Oh, no," she breathed, looking surreptitiously around the med bay.

She knew this person was coming for Goku. One of her crew mates' need to see Kakarot dead had won out against honoring their deal with Goku. She had no doubt about it. Pressing her lips together, Chi-Chi set her gaze on the cabinets lining the wall, which held the monitors to Goku's healing source. She could hide there, easily sliding behind the plastic curtain which butted against its edge. No one would have to know she'd visited here, or question her reasoning. But then Goku might die while she hid in that corner. If she remained here, her incoming guest would require an explanation from her, but then she could always demand an explanation from _them_ first. Chi-Chi pressed her shoulders back as the footsteps neared, just outside the doorway now. She _would_ be demanding. No one had a right to come here and kill him when they'd all agreed to heal the Saiyan and send him on his way.

As the footsteps rounded the corner, Chi-Chi lowered her gaze to Goku's face, frowning. She knew whoever stood out in the hall now could see her. The quiet gasp from the doorway between the beeps of the monitors told her as much. For a moment, she thought she was making a bad decision. She should allow this person to kill Goku. Allowing him to live could be dangerous. His fingers twitched, butting against hers with a warm touch. His breathing was steady. His injuries from Lord Frieza's torment, in shades of black and blue were still so evident, even as the healing tech did its work. She couldn't kill a man in this condition. She couldn't _let_ it happen. It was wrong.

"Chi-Chi." Bulma's voice. "What are you doing here?"

Chi-Chi tensed. She hadn't expected Bulma. Of all the people on this ship, Bulma was the only one who would easily see through her reason for being here. She turned toward the doorway, narrowing her eyes at the slender silhouette draped in a white nightgown, clutching a tiny device in hand.

"I should ask you the same question, Bulma."

"I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I."

"Looks like _he_ is," Bulma said as she turned her gaze on Goku, a twitch of a wry smile forming on her lips.

"He is. He's asleep and harmless. You know, from those injuries he accepted when he took the blame for Cui, before he helped us escape that prison and saved our lives back there."

It was scary, how easily she could defend him. She hadn't been thinking of everything he'd done for them before, but now that his life was on the line, a multitude of reasons to save him came flowing to her.

"I've been turning this over in my mind all night, Chi-Chi," Bulma said with a grimace, her blue eyes shimmering in the pale electronic light casting across the surface of Goku's body. "This wasn't an easy decision. But Yamcha's right. We can't let him live."

"We can."

"Chi-Chi, I understand your position," Bulma said softly as she drew nearer, maybe a bit too sympathetically for Chi-Chi's liking. "He means something to you, whether you like it or not. But think about what happens after."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll let him off once he's healed, right?" Chi-Chi nodded. "But what do you think he'll do next? He's hell bent on finishing us off, Chi-Chi!"

Chi-Chi raised her brows. "Did you miss everything that happened in that jail cell? He has bigger issues to worry about than us. And if we let him go, he has even less of a reason to hold onto that grudge."

Bulma narrowed her eyes at Goku, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Don't you hate him, Chi-Chi? How can you forget everything he did?"

"I can't. I do hate him, but if we kill him because we hate him, how is that any better than him trying to kill us because he wants to finish the job?"

"So this is about being better than him?"

"Yes."

"It's not about something else?" Bulma asked, crossing her arms and raising her brows.

Chi-Chi scoffed. "No. No, it's _not_ about something else. This is about our humanity, Bulma. This is about," she said as she tapped the smooth metal table with her fingertip, "not letting them get to us. We'll never be like these heartless warriors! I'll never be like him."

Chi-Chi turned a glare on Goku's serene face, surprised to find her vision blurred by tears she didn't realize she'd begun to shed. She still hated him for what he did. Bulma was right about that. But after all the years she'd spent wishing she'd run into the boy who'd wreaked havoc on their Earth so she could repay him for everything he did to her, she was shocked to realize she couldn't kill him. Not now. Not like this.

"Holding out for a round two?" Bulma said, lightening the mood with a sly smile. "I don't blame you. You should've told me he was this good-looking."

Chi-Chi rolled her eyes. "Bulma."

Bulma raised her hand and sighed. "The way I see it, this is your decision, seeing that you've got personal history with the guy. I'll leave him alone - for now. We'll heal him as promised, but you know we can't let him live, Chi-Chi."

With her lips pressed together in a hard line, Chi-Chi gave Bulma a nod. Her friend walked toward the door, pausing in the doorway of the med bay to give Chi-Chi one last glance over her shoulder before leaving her in the room. Maybe Bulma knew Chi-Chi needed a moment alone with him. Maybe she wanted to return to her room alone. Chi-Chi wouldn't blame Bulma for being mad at her. Chi-Chi was a little angry with _herself_ , knowing he could be dead right now if she had just let it happen. But he was still in front of her, still serene. Her solemn gaze rested on his face until his lips moved, drawing a gasp from her.

"You're letting me live."

Chi-Chi's lashes fluttered as she shook. "Y-yea-how-how long have you been awake?"

"Why?" he said.

"Why?"

His eyes opened, sending Chi-Chi a pointed, intense gaze. "Why didn't you let her kill me?"

Chi-Chi crossed her arms as she felt her face drop into a scowl. "I think you know that already."

"I know what you told _her_ ," he said with a groan, baring his teeth as pain seized him while trying to move.

Chi-Chi pressed a hand to the smooth cords of muscle straining at his shoulder. "Stay down. You aren't healed yet. You're in pain."

"Answer my question."

"I don't have to tell you anything."

As Chi-Chi raised her chin with a harrumph, Goku cracked a smile. "Are you always this strong-willed?"

"Always."

"And are you always this merciful?"

Chi-Chi tensed. She'd never considered herself merciful, but in this scenario, she saw no way to deny it. She felt like she'd been caught twice tonight. First by Bulma, while showing her concern for Goku's right to live, and now by Goku, who she may have wanted to save, but she did not want _aware_ of her coming to his defense.

"Shut up!"

"It's sweet," he teased.

"I don't care if you're laid up in a hospital bed," Chi-Chi growled, pulling her hand back, "I'll deck you right now if you don't shut up, you stupid monkey!"

Goku's playful smile fell. "Monkey?"

"We made a deal, okay?" Chi-Chi said defensively, ignoring the wounded look in his eyes as she turned away from him. "That's all there is to it."

Goku laughed wryly. "Okay. Fair enough."

He couldn't sound more skeptical. Chi-Chi's lips twisted as she looked toward the distant wall coated in shadows and realized she didn't know the true reason any more why she was defending him. Maybe there was something more to it than their honor as human beings. Maybe if Goku wasn't in this terrible shape and she had the opportunity to kill him, she'd still be torn between going through with it or not. He couldn't possibly know that, but the mere thought of it disturbed her.

A hiss drew Chi-Chi's eye back to Goku. His face was contorted, his teeth bared, and eyes clenched shut. Bulma's machinery wasn't working fast enough on him. Chi-Chi had a brief flashback of Lord Frieza's tail cracking across Goku's face in that cell, knocking him to the ground with a forceful collision that had made Chi-Chi wince. What he'd been through was brutal. She wanted him to suffer, yet watching him squirm when she knew what'd been done to him made her stomach churn. Not doing anything about it was cruel and disgusting, even if he _was_ a vile creature.

"You moron," she sneered. "Why don't you say something?"

"I've been saying a lot of things."

"No one's going to help you if you don't ask for it. I'll send Dr. Brief with some medicine for the pain."

"Doctor?" Goku's eyes shot open. "Medicine?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell him not to kill you, though I doubt the thought would even cross his mind." Chi-Chi turned for the door and froze. She turned to Goku, narrowing her eyes. "You...won't try to kill Dr. Brief, will you?"

Goku's wide eyes were full of alarm when he said, "Only if he tries to stick a needle in me."

Chi-Chi slipped out the door, shaking her head at Goku's odd behavior. After she rang for Dr. Brief, apologizing for disturbing his slumber, she returned to her room. Bulma was behind that door, and when it slid open to reveal Bulma seated upright on the bed, Chi-Chi could see she was still awake. Waiting for her.

"You're asking my father to make him more comfortable now?" Bulma said with a nod toward the bedside table.

Chi-Chi followed Bulma's gaze to Bulma's lit communicator rested on the tabletop and issued her friend a curt nod before sitting beside her on the bed. There was no point in hiding anything from Bulma. Maybe there was no point in trying to fool herself any longer. She couldn't reconcile the man who'd made her feel beautiful and incredible, if only for one night, who'd taken a beating and risked his own life to rescue them from imprisonment, with the same boy who'd transformed into a Giant Ape year after year, destroying everyone she knew on Earth. The only reminder of who this current Goku _was_ came in the form of his repeatedly expressed desire to kill them. But like her lies, Chi-Chi was beginning to suspect his conviction wasn't so honest, either. If it had been, why hadn't he gone through with it when he had the chance? He had more than one occasion already where he could've done it.

Bulma drew Chi-Chi into her arms, taking Chi-Chi by surprise. "Try not to get too attached, Chi. This man's a Saiyan, remember? The one who was ordered to kill us. He _will_ kill us the first chance he gets."

"So he says," Chi-Chi murmured into Bulma's shoulder.

"I'm willing to bet he means it."

"Bulma," Chi-Chi whispered, clutching her chest as she pulled away to look into Bulma's eyes. "I never thought I'd be able to feel anything for a man like him. I hate myself for caring about the stupid bastard. Am I crazy?"

"You're not crazy." Bulma smiled and reached forward to tuck a strand of loose hair free of Chi-Chi's eyes, behind her ear. "If Yamcha turned out to be a homicidal maniac, I'd still love him. He was my first. Goku was _your_ first, Chi-Chi. It will always mean something to you. Maybe not to him, but to you it always will."

"That's comforting."

"No matter what happens," Bulma said, moving her hand from Chi-Chi's face to grasp her shoulder, "we can't let him know about Planet Namek and its Dragon Balls."

"Of course not!"

"He'd do everything he could to stop us from reviving life on Earth," Bulma said with a scowl.

"You really think Namek's Dragon Balls can do it?"

"Yeah! If they're anything like Earth's Dragon Balls, they can do anything! We just need to get there in one piece. We _need_ to make that wish."

"We'll get rid of Goku as soon as we can," Chi-Chi said with newfound determination, before furrowing her brows as she caught a fleeting glimpse of a shadow crossing their open doorway. "No more hold ups getting to Namek."

"Good," Bulma said with a sigh, before sending Chi-Chi a smirk. "And who knows? Maybe while Goku's stuck onboard the ship anyway, you can get some use out of him."

Chi-Chi slapped Bulma's shoulder. "Bulma!"

"What?" Bulma giggled. "Are you kidding me? Chi-Chi you've only done it _once_ and you've got a perfectly gorgeous half-naked man just down the hall, who you already know is into you. I totally wouldn't pass that up, asshole or not."

Chi-Chi laughed as heat rushed to her face. Bulma was absolutely serious, but Chi-Chi couldn't take her suggestion seriously. It would be wrong to take advantage of a wounded man who now owed her for the kindness she'd shown him. Biting her lip, Chi-Chi averted her gaze from Bulma's. The heat in her cheeks only worsened when fleeting memories of Goku's muscled body on top of her in the hotel bed that night played through her mind. Her body quivered at the memory and she suddenly wished Bulma wasn't looking at her.

"Go to sleep, Bulma. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

"That's right. You need your rest for lover boy. I'll cover for you when you're ready. Just say the word."

"You know he could kill me if we're alone together, right?"

"When he could screw you instead? I doubt it."

Chi-Chi chucked her pillow at Bulma's head before flopping into bed. "Go to sleep, Bulma!"

With an irate groan, Chi-Chi wrestled in her sheets, attempting to lull herself to sleep against impossible odds. It didn't help being tangled in soft cotton in the darkness, a stark reminder of the sensual contact with him, Goku's tongue in her mouth, his hands on her body, his lies wrapped up in her mind like a tangled web she would never escape.


	16. To Find the Dragon Balls

Kakarot stared at the lights on the white ceiling above him, chewing the bland food given to him by this human. The young man on the ship was the strongest person here beside himself, by Kakarot's judgement. He seemed ticked about being here, sitting beside Kakarot's bedside, as usual. He never liked to feed Kakarot, but it seemed to be his duty.

Kakarot should've been grateful, he supposed, that he was eating at all. That they hadn't killed him during the unconscious vulnerability he'd so foolishly displayed. That they had no clue he'd heard anything about Chi-Chi and Bulma's Dragon Ball secret when he snuck into the hall after her that night. He was curious about Namek now. Earth scientists hadn't explored outside their own galaxy, so Kakarot was shocked to think the humans should have any clue about what resided on Namek, let alone secret magical balls no one on Planet Vegeta or in the Planet Trade had ever mentioned. But then, the humans claimed they had a set of these on Earth. Had _that_ been the magic which had allowed them to escape his purge all those years ago? Kakarot had been thinking it over for a while, and finally came to the conclusion that if they believed these balls had the power to resurrect all Earthlings, the Dragon Balls had to be the cause. Kakarot finally had his explanation. He _hadn't_ failed his mission. He'd been blocked by magic.

Swallowing down a thick lump of food, Kakarot gagged. "What's wrong with your food?"

"What do you mean?" the man asked, his eyes narrowed at Kakarot as he offered another heaping gray spoonful of mush.

Reluctantly, Kakarot enveloped his lips around the spoon. "Dafe fake."

"Fake?" The man peered into the half-emptied bowl in his open palm as if it would offer him an explanation. "No. Well yeah. I mean, Chi-Chi, Ox King and I do the best we can to replicate what this stuff tasted like back on Earth, but other planets don't exactly have the best ingredients."

Choking down another bite, Kakarot sneered at him. "What is it _supposed_ to be?"

"Oatmeal?"

Kakarot groaned. The grimace crossing the other man's face told him the food was not only doubtfully oatmeal, but to _his_ distaste as well. One thing was for sure: if these humans ever managed to resurrect the Earth, they'd be doing every appetite in the universe a favor.

"What's your name again?"

The man cast Kakarot a withering glare. "You know my name already."

"I forget."

He sighed. "Yamcha."

"Right," Kakarot said with a smile. "Yamcha. Where are we headed now?"

"Away from Lord Frieza, first place we can get rid of you."

"Where are we now?"

Yamcha hovered the spoon just short of reaching Kakarot's lips. "Why don't you shut up and finish this so I can get out of here?"

Kakarot balked as his eyes fell to the bowl scraped down to the remaining three or four bites worth of brown mush. His last meal had been several hours ago. This bowl was hardly enough to sustain him. Yamcha had to be kidding him if he thought this bowl would bring Kakarot anywhere close to 'finished'.

A low growl crept from Kakarot's throat and sprang at Yamcha. "Where's the rest of it?"

Yamcha blinked. "This is it."

"All that talk of being humane," Kakarot scoffed. "You're torturing me!"

"Torturing?"

"You think you can get away with this? I demand more food!"

"You demand more food, huh?" Yamcha yelled, sliding his chair nearly half across the room as he shot to his feet. "This is how we eat, Saiyan! This is how we've _been_ eating ever since our resources were taken away."

As Yamcha hovered over, leaning domineeringly into Kakarot's face, Kakarot bared his teeth and clenched his fists by his sides. He was still weak, but he could fight. It wouldn't take much to take down one human fighter. But he didn't care to fight now. He needed food. All he needed was to restrain Yamcha enough to force him to deliver more food.

"What's going on in here?"

Kakarot's gaze shot to the voice in the doorway. The old man stood there, clasping his hands behind his back and casting Kakarot a smile. These men were the same two who'd tried to knock him out the first time he'd boarded this ship uninvited, in escape of Pzaa's explosion. They must've been the strongest of the Earthling crew. The others must've been keeping their distance out of fear. Except for Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi and Bulma both had a lot of nerve. If Kakarot didn't know any better, he would've almost believed those two were Saiyan. Yet they hadn't returned to his bedside since that first night. He could only assume they weren't allowed near him. Kakarot felt a smirk stretch across his lips. He wondered if the reasoning for that restraint was because the others knew about him and Chi-Chi. Or maybe they didn't. Either way, he had leverage here. Humans valued their emotions similarly to how Saiyans valued food. If they wanted to torment him, he could always do the same.

"It's always you two," Kakarot said. "What? No one else lives on this ship anymore?"

"Hey!" Yamcha raised his fist.

The old man pulled a hand from behind his back to wave it at Yamcha. "Now, now. You know as well as we do, Goku, that the others are better off not seeing you."

"Why?" Kakarot teased, inclining his head to raise a brow across the length of his horizontal body at the old man. "Aren't I handsome enough?"

Yamcha snorted. "Maybe too handsome."

"Huh?"

"Goku," the old man said, meandering in their direction at a pace far slower than he should have been. "You seem to be healing quickly."

"Not nearly as quickly as I could if I was being fed properly."

As Kakarot glowered at Yamcha, the young man sneered back, but the old man chuckled. "Don't we all know it."

"Master Roshi," Yamcha said, his sneer softening to a gaping expression.

Kakarot frowned, fighting the urge to smile. He didn't want to admit it, but there was something he liked about the old man. His eyes darted to Yamcha and back to the old man. Yamcha hadn't answered his question, but maybe the old man would. Kakarot had to know if his suspicions about heading toward the planet Namek were correct.

"Now," Master Roshi said, "the others shouldn't see you because they might be tempted to let you go if you appeal to their emotions."

"Me? I don't know anything about their emotions."

Master Roshi leveled Kakarot a look far wiser than any he'd ever seen from an elder. It was like Master Roshi was seeing right through him, his eyes sparking behind his dark-lensed glasses.

"I think you do," he said. "Now, Yamcha and I won't let you go anywhere. Right now, it's imperative you remain quiet and restrained, for both your sake as well as everyone else's on this ship."

Kakarot's eyes widened and darted to the ceiling out of habit, as if he would see windows there like the large ships he was used to inhabiting when he wasn't in his own pod. He felt the old man hinting at something, but it frustrated him not knowing what it was. The white, light-mounted ceilings told him nothing.

"Where are we?" Kakarot asked, expecting a better answer from the forthcoming older man.

"Passing through PTO planet territory, my boy. Yamcha, Bulma needs you at the helm."

"Communication?"

Master Roshi nodded.

"Wait!" Kakarot called, stopping Yamcha in his tracks. He suspected where they might be now, a PTO territory between their previous location and Namek. "Ask if there are any Saiyan crews nearby. You can drop me off with one of them."

"Sure." Yamcha scoffed. "We'll drop you when we meet up with a whole group of Saiyans. Nothing can go wrong there."

"Why would you want us to do _that_?" Master Roshi asked, peering at Kakarot and rubbing his chin. "You aren't healed enough. Won't your fellow Saiyans see you as weak?"

"I've dealt with worse," Kakarot said, sitting up and groaning.

The wires stuck on his chest pulled his skin taught, tearing at the fine hairs attached to their adhesive. Yamcha flinched as if in preparation to stop him, but shook his head and turned away instead.

"You should lay back, Goku. Yamcha, why don't you relay what Goku suggested up front. Discuss it with the others."

"Whatever I have to do, to get that Saiyan off our ship," Yamcha said, heading for the door. "Master Roshi-"

"I'll be fine, Yamcha. Won't we be fine, Goku?"

Kakarot felt his lip pull back, just barely baring his teeth. But Yamcha wasn't turning around to see it, and it wasn't really meant for Old Man Roshi. Master Roshi approached his bedside with a smile, no malice behind his wrinkled gaze at all.

With a huff, Kakarot rolled his eyes. "Fine. Of course."

Master Roshi remained silent as he stood by Kakarot's side, folding his hands over each other. Kakarot looked up and down the old man's wrinkled wardrobe, his classic Earth clothing still unaltered after all these years living in space. Saiyans had their own traditional style, prior to the PTO takeover, but none bothered to honor it any longer. There was no need. The tight grip Earthlings maintained on their sentimental traditions baffled Kakarot, but it also filled him with wonder. If they could cling to their styles, culture, and traditions so tightly after all these years with no planet to turn to, he wondered what other feats Earthlings were capable of accomplishing.

"I have something I've waited many years now to ask you, Kakarot."

"Kakarot?" Kakarot quirked a brow at the old man. "If it's 'Kakarot' now, this _must_ be serious."

"It is," the old man said with a solemn smile. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy it?"

"Did you feel shame? Sympathy for the people you killed? Remorse?"

Earth again. Kakarot furrowed his brows. Truth be told, the old man was using a lot of words he didn't understand. He'd heard of sympathy, remorse, and shame, but these were words Saiyans didn't use. Those words didn't fit in their vocabulary. Enjoyment was all he knew. Yet if he was being honest, he hadn't enjoyed that purge. Earth was too full of life, too full of beauty and fun challenges for him to _enjoy_ its destruction. It was the first planet he ever knew, the first purge he completed, but it had been hard, mostly because the humans were so similar to himself.

"It was a job."

"So no feelings then," Master Roshi said, nodding, "good _or_ bad."

"Not really."

"You know what I miss most about the Earth?"

Kakarot raised a brow, searching the old man's faraway gaze with curiosity, but Master Roshi's brows knit with a hard line between them, his deep ponderous scowl and the dark sunglasses hiding his eyes giving nothing away.

Kakarot knew what he had to miss, and guessed. "The food?"

Master Roshi laughed, rubbing his stomach. "Well, I guess you got me there! At times like this, yes, I do miss it."

Kakarot smiled at the thought of ice cold streams running down mountainsides where he used to spend his time as a boy between battles. He'd never, on any other planet, found water quite as refreshing as Earth's. "Its nature, too."

"Well," Master Roshi said with a crooked smiling, adjusting his glasses, "I was gonna say the women."

As Master Roshi laughed, Kakarot cocked his head. "But you have women."

"Son," Master Roshi suddenly spoke sternly as he leaned forward to come nose to nose with Kakarot. "If I could have any of those women, _we_ wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Why not?"

Master Roshi's jaw fell before a weary groan rolled off his lips. "Never mind. Maybe I oughtta go and let you focus on healing."

As he stood, Kakarot snapped a hand out and seized the old man by the frail wrist. "What about getting me off this ship?"

"I'll see what the others have come up with. They must've got something worked out by now." Master Roshi moved as soon as his hand slipped from Kakarot's grasp. At the doorway, he paused, turned, and locked eyes with Kakarot. "Just a job, huh? Young man, you might want to reconsider your line of work."

Kakarot watched the doorway, rendered speechless by the old man's suggestion as he disappeared. Kakarot felt his muscles gaining strength again, though after his minuscule meal, he was beginning to feel drowsy. The healing technology was doing its work. If the Earthlings agreed to stop and let him off, he could pursue them to these dragon balls undetected. He could steal a wish for himself on Namek, if that was really all it took. There were many things he could wish for, which he'd started considering since the night he overheard Bulma and Chi-Chi's discussion from the hall. He hadn't considered it before, but going back and choosing his own line of work seemed a viable choice for a wish.

* * *

"I don't understand what he stands to gain from this," Bulma said, tapping a pen on the control panel.

"I don't trust him," Chi-Chi said with a deep scowl, knowing there was more to this request than getting Kakarot off the ship. "He's up to something."

"But what?" Dr. Brief said. "He must want to let us go. That's a start."

"It certainly is," Mrs. Brief said with a fervent nod, leaning over her husband. "Besides, a handsome man like that can't be all bad, can he? I think he just wants to be free."

"We all want to be free," Chi-Chi grumbled.

"Yeah, right," Yamcha huffed.

"If we let him go," Ox King said, raising his palms in the air, "what do we have to lose? Don't we want him off this ship so we can hunt for the Dragon Balls anyway?"

"But," Oolong said, pausing to send an exasperated look across the bridge, "this is Kakarot! We're just going to let him go?"

Chi-Chi gazed around the room, gauging the reactions of the others. Oolong expressed a concern which had been rolling around in her mind ever since Goku stepped foot on their ship. After all the time they'd spent determined to make him pay someday, could every single one of them really turn their back on that now? It was wrong. They weren't killers. But they were still hurting, and emotions could make people do stupid things. Chi-Chi licked her lips as the others scratched their necks and exchanged wary glances. She couldn't deny that she wished he was dead. But she knew she couldn't be responsible for killing him, now that he was a real person and more than just a concept, a person who'd been used and mistreated.

"Not exactly," Bulma said with a smile, breaking the awkward silence. "The Ox King's right. We need Goku off this ship. The Saiyans we found at the next planet can't be trusted any further than we can throw 'em. But we wasted fuel evading those PTO soldiers off Chelfiss. We need more fuel to move on to Namek, and using Goku might be the way to get it."

"How?" Puar blurted from over Yamcha's shoulder.

"He must be worth something to them," Bulma said with a shrug. "Otherwise, he wouldn't ask us to leave him with them."

"So," Chi-Chi said with a tilt of her head as she began to follow Bulma's thought process, "we make a trade - him for their supplies."

Yamcha cracked a grin. "More like _demand_ they give us their supplies."

"All we need is fuel," Bulma said, punching coordinates into the control center. "It won't take us long to get there. The Saiyans already acknowledged our location and are standing by to receive our next message."

"One problem though," Oolong said with a scowl. "The Saiyans might agree to your proposal, but you can't actually expect them to pay up."

Mrs. Brief gasped. "You think they'd hurt us?"

Dr. Brief laughed. "They're likely to kill us before parting with any fuel."

"Well then," Bulma said, reaching below the console to fish her hand through a satchel at her feet. "We'll just have to contaminate the cargo until the exchange is complete."

As Bulma pulled a shiny metal item from the bag, raising the slim needle in the air until it sparkled beneath the fluorescent lights of their ship, Chi-Chi's jaw dropped. Bulma wanted to contaminate _Goku_. Chi-Chi had to admit, it was a clever plan which would require the Saiyans to give them what they asked for and let them leave unharmed. Crossing her arms, Chi-Chi ran her hands up and down her skin, smoothing down the goosebumps that prickled her flesh. There had to be a countermeasure to Bulma's proposed injection. She had to be planning to inoculate him with something which would protect him, or the Saiyans would have no reason to bargain.

"What do you have in there, Bulma?" Master Roshi asked, raising his glasses to peer at the syringe.

"Oh, just a common Earth virus. Probably deadly to alien species, though."

"Goku isn't _that_ alien," Chi-Chi mumbled. "He spent enough years on Earth that he must be somewhat immune to Earth's illnesses."

"Guess we'll see," Bulma said, beaming and twirling the gleaming syringe between her fingers. "The other Saiyans won't know that. They'll be convinced he'll die if they don't hand over the fuel, at which point, I'll give them this."

Bulma tossed a vial at Chi-Chi, so tiny Chi-Chi thought it was a small gray pebble beaming through the air. When she caught it, she felt the smooth glass corked by a metal cap. She glanced at the other curious eyes set on her palm curled around the mysterious vial, and then looked at Bulma.

"It's the antidote, of course," Bulma said, raising her syringe. "I'm not a monster."

Pressing her lips together, Chi-Chi drew in a long breath. She wanted to believe Bulma's plan would work. She couldn't think of any strong argument against it. She couldn't think of a better alternative plan, either. She _wanted_ an alternative. Endangering Goku's life with a potentially deadly illness was not something she wanted any part of.

"Is he asleep?" Bulma asked Master Roshi.

Master Roshi hummed. "Should be by now. He ate the entire meal with the sedative in it, and he looked weary when I left. He still has all that healing to do, too. I'd be shocked if he's still awake."

Still awake? Chi-Chi squashed the urge to scoff. If Goku had still been awake the morning she first left him, this would all be playing out very differently now. Maybe it wouldn't have played out at all. If he knew who she was that morning, Chi-Chi would be dead by now. He wouldn't have held back, at least not then. As Bulma glided past the bridge's table, accompanied by Yamcha leading her back to Goku in the med bay, Chi-Chi heaved a sigh. Her feet remained planted where she stood by the controls. She might not be willing to kill Goku, but she wasn't ready to save him, either.


	17. Unforgiveable

A/N: Thanks to some of you who've been very supportive of this story, who I wouldn't want to disappoint, I decided not to postpone this chapter indefinitely. You guys know who you are 3

* * *

The dark ceiling above her bed seemed to loom over on her. Chi-Chi felt the walls closing in as if they were filled with voices chanting the symptoms Goku would begin experiencing, from the illness he didn't know he'd been given. _Chills. Nausea. Body aches_. Again and again, the imagined voices laid it out for her like accusations. She was letting this happen. She was allowing a man to be used as a tool for her own benefit. She'd tried to sleep, wishing she could rest soundly like Bulma was doing on the bunk below her, as the others doubtlessly were doing in their other rooms, with the exception of whoever was on duty at the bridge. She couldn't.

Aside from the chanting walls, her mind was fixated on Goku. She imagined him in the med bay as restless as she was, not knowing the cause of what plagued them both. Maybe he wasn't experiencing symptoms yet. Maybe he was resting, leaving her alone with her worried insomnia.

Chi-Chi ran her fingers through her hair, tousling her loose strands with every agitated stroke of her fingers. The darkness in the room did nothing to calm her. The quiet was useless. With a growl, she sat upright, letting the hair she'd been stroking cascade down her back. She slipped her legs over the side of the bed and fell to a graceful landing at Bulma's bedside. After swiping her jacket from a hook beside the door controls, Chi-Chi swept a thumb over the control pad to release herself to the light-filled hall.

"Stupid," she said as her bare feet powered her forward and she slipped her hand into her coat pocket. She touched the smooth glass vial seated inside. "This is so stupid, Chi-Chi."

Stupid as it was, she knew she wouldn't change her mind. While everyone else was sleeping in this near silent ship, she would be visiting the med bay, healing the man the others had carefully infected. The smooth curves of the glass vial turned in her fingers before she tightened her grasp around it. She would find a syringe and hopefully inject Goku before he knew she was in there. She had a feeling he would not be the best patient, judging by his behavior so far in the med bay.

When she rounded the corner to pass through the doorway, Chi-Chi was relieved to find Goku lying still, not a single other soul in the room. Her forward progress slowed with her breathing as she looked at him, relieved to have made it this far. His chest was still bare, wires still taped to it with electrodes, but the bruising she'd seen earlier was gone. The cuts from Lord Frieza had all healed. He looked like a new man again. As Chi-Chi crossed the room to find the cabinets storing syringes, she glanced at him repeatedly. She found herself blushing. She couldn't believe she was going to touch him willingly in a moment, to feel his bare skin beneath her fingertips again. She wondered if his skin was _always_ as heated as she'd felt it when they- she shook her head and turned her focus on the cabinet contents in front of her. She was being silly. She'd had physical contact with him without it meaning much. He'd held her hand in his just that day when he transported them out of Lord Frieza's jail. Chi-Chi's gaze veered from the sterile silver equipment to her trembling fingers floating across the ledge. The memory of his fingers wrapped around her hand distracted her before she shook her head and growled at herself.

"Stupid," she hissed as she swiped a syringe and thrust it into the glass vial in her other hand.

With jerking movements, she released the air from the syringe, tossed the emptied vial into the waste bin at her feet, and turned her back on the cabinets. Goku was messing with her mind in the wrong way. She had raced here, certain her fear of him would change her mind once she made it into this room. She hadn't expected this emotional reaction, nor did she want it. She let her eyes trail from the empty bed filling the space between them to the contours of his face. Goku's closed eyes looked relaxed. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. He was living, healing and breathing in all the ways people of Earth never would again. That made her angry. That thought made it easier to approach him without distracting herself with stupid, fanciful dreams of a Goku who wasn't really a Saiyan.

He _was_ a Saiyan. And she was going to stick this needle into his arm to save his sorry ass, whether he liked it or not. She hoped he didn't. She no longer feared he might wake up. Instead, she _wanted_ this to hurt him. It would only be a minor taste of all the pain he caused, but it was something. She butted her hip against the cold metal slab on which he slept to steady herself. Rearing back her hand, Chi-Chi poised the needle to point straight for his exposed shoulder.

Goku's hand shot up and grabbed her. He cried out, his eyes opening, alight with fear. Chi-Chi slapped her free palm over his mouth to muffle his cry.

"Shut up, Stupid. You'll wake them!" she hissed, struggling to free her arm from his iron grasp. "Now hold still!"

His voice raised an octave as he screamed through Chi-Chi's fingers, his legs kicking out from beneath the white sheets covering his lower half, his body flailing and twisting on the gurney as his face contorted behind her palm in a grimace.

Chi-Chi bared her teeth and struggled with all her might. "Unbelievable! You can handle Lord Frieza without complaint, but you can't handle this?"

The wires were torn from his chest, whipping across the electronic devices surrounding them with clinks and clatters. Something fell to the ground with a trill clash that echoed through the med bay. If they made much more noise in this dead of night, someone was bound to hear. Chi-Chi heaved a sigh of appreciation at herself for having sealed the door behind her as she wrestled control of the needle back. Chi-Chi needed use of both hands. Goku could run his mouth now for all she cared. His raucous was unstoppable anyway, regardless of his cries.

As she leaned over him, trying to gain access to a place to pierce him with the needle, Goku batted her hands away and sent her a glare. "Are you crazy? Attacking me with a needle?"

"I'm not attacking you, stupid!" Chi-Chi thrust the needle forward and missed as he rolled them both the side. "I'm trying to-"

"Get that thing away from me!" Goku hollered, his last syllable falling with him as he toppled over the edge of the table, dragging Chi-Chi with him.

Chi-Chi grunted when she fell on Goku's chest, getting tangled in the sheets herself. As she wrestled with the cotton straight jacket tying her to this impossible person, she growled. Goku wouldn't stop waving his arms and legs around, which was making it near impossible for Chi-Chi not to inject the antidote into _herself_ or the sheets as she held it high and tried to preserve it. She'd had enough. If he didn't want it, it was too bad. Fighting him wasn't working, so she'd have to distract him. She leaned forward, getting a closer look at his face as she bit her lip and decided. When his lips parted and his eyes met hers, she had her solution.

"Enough!" Chi-Chi closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to his quickly enough to suspend his movements while she stuck the needle in his arm.

His eyes went wide before Chi-Chi pulled back from her pucker, squeezing every drop of medicine into his muscle. She'd succeeded. She also...kissed him. Willingly. She didn't know how to explain that. She could explain the medicine, but not that. No. She couldn't explain the medicine either. Her heart began to race as Goku dropped his relaxed arms to his sides, tilting his head at her.

Panting, Chi-Chi licked her lips. "That was the _cure_ , you dummy."

"Cure? I wasn't sick. You stuck me with something."

"The cure," Chi-Chi repeated, pulling her tousled hair back into a more orderly fashion, "to what you were already injected with."

Goku's face paled. "I was injected with something?"

"Never mind that," Chi-Chi said with a dismissive wave, giving up on her tangled hair. "You can't let anyone else on the ship know I gave you the antidote."

"Antidote to what?"

"The thing that was going to probably kill you if the other Saiyans-" Chi-Chi cut off with a sigh. "Listen. You can't let them know. You _especially_ can't let the other Saiyans know."

Goku scratched his head. "Thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome," Chi-Chi said with a roll of her eyes, trying to get up but falling back down on top of Goku as her elbow caught in the sheets. "I don't even know why I'm doing this."

"I was just about to ask you that," Goku said with a grin, his gaze softening as his eyes wandered over Chi-Chi's lips.

Chi-Chi felt her breath catch in her throat when she tried to answer. She was ready to tell him she didn't know, but she'd already said that. Even if she was prepared to repeat herself, the look Goku was giving her made any explanation unnecessary. His eyes seemed to be fixed on her lips, prompting Chi-Chi to lick them again. His taste still lingered there, enticing her to taste him again. She realized her palm pressed against Goku's chest was kneading into his flesh, the subtle dewy perspiration of their recent tussle giving the touch just the right amount of friction. Her fingertips fell into the defined crevice dividing the peak of his chest from the ridges of his abs. Her eyes darted to the subtle sheen of his tawny flesh against her pale fingers before returning to his lips looking just as moistened and wanton as hers felt.

"I don't know either," Goku said, his eyes darting up to meet hers before returning to her lips, "and I don't care."

He softly cradled the back of her head as his lips surged forward, pressing the warmth and moisture she craved to her lips. Chi-Chi sighed as if her breath were drawn from his lungs. The flavor of his lips lingered with her, longer, deeper and more powerful than that first brief kiss. Coming to her senses, Chi-Chi drew her palm back and pulled her lips from his as she smacked across the side of his head. Goku's lips were on hers again a second later. He was undeterred by her attack. His soft lips caressed hers, sending a ripple of pleasure through her lips as she pulled away again.

"Wait," Chi-Chi breathed.

"Why?" Goku said before sealing her lips with his again.

Chi-Chi tensed beneath his gently gliding lips, but as his hand fell from her neck to her chest and the fingertips of his other hand brushed against her cheek, she found she enjoyed the contact. She was swept up in the moment, too imbued in sensation to think clearly. When his lips parted from hers, she didn't want it to end. Chi-Chi closed the gap again, seizing Goku by a spike of hair and drawing him into her so he couldn't get away. When she pried her tongue between his parted lips, he moaned. It was a delightful sound, deep and guttural with such a tone of pleasure that Chi-Chi nearly enjoyed the _sound_ he made more than his moist tongue sliding against hers.

She dug her fingertips into his abdomen, moving forward to straddle him with their lips locked together. When Goku thrust his hips upward, pressing the bundles of bedsheets against her heated core, Chi-Chi moaned. She exhaled into their kiss, knowing this was wrong and it was time to stop. This wasn't what she'd come here for. He wasn't what she wanted. But she wished he could be.

Chi-Chi peeled her lips from his with a loud pucker and slapped Goku's chest. "Enough! Just because I felt sorry for you pathetically dying from an illness, that doesn't mean I'm inviting you back into my bed."

Goku licked his lips and raised a brow. "You're not?"

Chi-Chi pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to connect with those supple lips again. "No. Remember, no one can know about this."

Goku smiled, his eyes panning over Chi-Chi's body as she climbed off his lap, straightening her wrinkled robes. "Of course. Wouldn't want your Earthling friends to judge you for laying with a Saiyan. I know _I_ was already made into a joke by the Ginyu Force for sleeping with you."

Chi-Chi gasped and shot him a glare. " _The_ Saiyan. You're the Saiyan who destroyed our planet. I'll never forgive you for that."

Goku's smile turned lazy as he stretched his arms over his head and reclined to stare up toward the ceiling. "You're one of the Earthlings who escaped and ruined my reputation for life. So I'll never forgive you, either."

"For living?" Chi-Chi scoffed.

Goku shrugged, before peering across his glistening chest at her. "We all do what we have to. We all have our part to play."

"I guess so," Chi-Chi drawled, searching Goku's face for any lack of sincerity or malice.

He looked sincere. If she was reading him right, he looked apologetic. It was almost as if...he didn't like the part he played. Maybe Chi-Chi was fooling herself, using wishful thinking to re-imagine Kakarot into a real Goku. She'd filled her mind with naive folly in the past to push herself through this life. It was nothing new to her, imagining something better. But as she stared into his eyes, hesitating leaving the med bay, she didn't see a lie.

"I guess I should start acting like I'm sick," he said, turning his dark eyes on the ceiling.

"Y-yeah," Chi-Chi said, clearing her throat. "Shiver. Groan about your aches and pains. Uh...massage your head," she said with a tap of her forehead. "It should hurt."

"Sure," he said, sending her a smile. "You mean like this?"

As his smile fell into a grimace and his hand flew dramatically to his forehead, Chi-Chi stifled a giggle with the back of her hand. She couldn't believe a killer she'd committed her entire life to hating could make her feel any joy. But she felt happy now. She felt...fulfilled. She hated him for that. He wasn't the one allowed to make her happy.

With a grunt, she turned her back on him and marched toward the door. "Like that. Now get back in your bed and clean up this mess before someone finds it."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "I'll clean it!" As Chi-Chi opened the sliding med bay door to turn for the hall, she paused at the sound of his lowered voice. "Thank you."

Chi-Chi exhaled and clutched the doorway, the weight of what she'd just done hitting her with his expression of gratitude. She'd helped a killer avoid being killed. She'd experienced lust for this killer, no matter how much she hated to admit it. If she turned around, she knew she was likely to do it again, too.

"You're welcome," she said through clenched teeth. "I hate you."

He laughed. "Okay?"

His voice faded as Chi-Chi raced down the hall, not waiting a moment longer to see if he'd say anything else. She didn't want the jerk to talk anymore. She meant what she said and she wouldn't allow herself to forget it, in spite of his charm.

She would never forgive him.


	18. For a Dying Saiyan

Kakarot's eyes lit at the sight of the team of Saiyans gathering around the recently-landed Hope ship on this planet they'd just purged. The hatch had dropped to reveal exactly who he expected to find here. Toma, Fasha, Pumbukin, some guy (he forgot his name) and most importantly, Turles.

Kakarot quelled the smirk forming on his face, coughing to disguise the twitch as he stepped past the humans. Yamcha's hand was clutched around his arm as if he was being held prisoner rather than being released. Bulma's glare was full of determination, only slightly more severe than the old man's, whose eyes softened when they lit on Fasha's shapely legs. Kakarot chuckled as Yamcha led him forward, but at Yamcha's curious glance, he covered the laugh with another cough, turning it into a hack for theatrics. He shot Chi-Chi a wink as he drifted past her. He was sure he was playing this "sickness" right as he clutched his stomach and stumbled forward with a moan.

"What's wrong with him?" Fasha called.

"Fuel first," Bulma said.

"We're not handing over _anything_ ," Toma said, brushing past Fasha and narrowing his eyes at Kakarot, "for a dying Saiyan."

Fasha rolled her eyes. "He's Bardock's son, Toma."

Pumbukin snorted. "If we leave him here, I'm not gonna be the one to explain this to Gine."

"Kid," Toma said with a sneer, "what've you been getting into now?"

"Nothing _you_ wouldn't," Kakarot replied with a pointedly weak laugh.

"Smart ass," Turles scoffed, before folding his arms and turning a glare on the humans. "Are you people really from Earth?"

Bulma's eyes bulged. It was as if the humans suddenly noticed Turles. "He-he looks just like-"

"Yes," Chi-Chi said, stepping across the ramp and drawing something from her armor. "And Kakarot won't die, not if you give him this."

As Turles reached for the tiny glass vial Chi-Chi tossed straight in the air, Chi-Chi wrapped her fingers around it and drew it into herself. Kakarot cocked a brow at the exchange. That vial looked like a real antidote. He was amazed she was able to replicate it so well. He was disturbed by the thought that the other Saiyans were going to try to inject him with it. Kakarot could tell them the truth to avoid another injection, but they probably wouldn't believe him. He'd promised Chi-Chi he wouldn't tell them, anyway. She might've had a low opinion of him, but he was a man of his word.

"But you can't have it, not until we have our fuel," Chi-Chi added.

Kakarot didn't like the way Turles' eyes narrowed at Chi-Chi. He wouldn't trust Turles around a single person he cared about, not even a fellow Saiyan. Not that he cared about Chi-Chi. She hated him, anyway. And she was an Earthling. Fortunately, if his plan worked out, Turles would be dead soon. Kakarot wouldn't have to worry about him for much longer.

Bulma thrust her open palm forward. "So hand over the fuel."

Toma's brows cocked as his eyes darted to Kakarot, back to his astounded teammates, and across the faces of the humans, before coming back to Kakarot again. "You poisoned him?"

"Only temporarily," Mrs. Brief giggled.

"What we mean is, we want to ensure we get what's due to us," Yamcha said, gripping Kakarot's arm tighter, "and we don't exactly trust Saiyans."

"Oh, I'm trustworthy," Turles said with a broad smile, patting his chest.

Kakarot laughed out loud, his pretend sickness temporarily forgotten. He'd never heard a greater lie, unless Frieza had made the same claim at some point.

Pumbukin re-emerged from a large ship behind them, into which Kakarot didn't even realize he'd retreated. Behind him, Pambukin hefted a cylindrical green tank, the kind that carried fuel on PTO ships. Kakarot met his solemn gaze momentarily. The others weren't happy with him for dragging them into this. But he was his father's son. If his father had to be lost to him, the least Kakarot could do was use this status among his friends to his advantage when it was needed. They were going to be even less happy with him when they realized his plan.

"Good," Master Roshi said, easing forward with furtive glances at Pumbukin's chubby face as he reached for the fuel tank. "I'll take that, if you don't mind."

"Get it into the ship, Master Roshi," Bulma said.

"Medicine," Pumbukin demanded, opening his palm and eyeing Chi-Chi.

Chi-Chi gave Bulma a nod, gaining agreement from the others before she tossed the vial into Pumbukin's awaiting palm. The fuel tank let out a shrill shriek as it dragged across the ramp behind Master Roshi, entering the ship where Dr. Brief and the Ox King waited to prepare the ship to take off. Take off. They would leave here thinking they were parting ways from him forever. Little did they know, Kakarot knew they were heading for Namek. He would follow - alone - not only so he could finally corner and kill the Earthlings, but because he wanted to see this mystical dragon for himself. He wanted to know what it was all about, this magic that prevented him from completing his mission. Maybe he could use it to his own advantage.

"Now," Yamcha said, drawing Kakarot's attention back to the present as he was shoved forward. "When we hand over Kakarot, we leave in one piece."

"Of course," Turles said with a smile.

Kakarot nodded to Yamcha and spoke under his breath. "He's lying."

Yamcha growled. "What do I do?"

Smirking, Kakarot turned to meet Turles' gaze. "You need to let them go, Turles." He groaned and rubbed his arms, playing it up as Turles cast him a withering glare. "If you don't, the medicine won't work."

"Huh?" Yamcha whispered.

"Won't work?" Turles scoffed, looking to his comrades behind him. "What kind of bullshit is that?"

"Give it to me," Kakarot said to Pumbukin, extending his palm until the vial flew into it. He clasped his fingers around it.

"Um...Goku?" Yamcha said.

He could see his Saiyan comrades' eyes wandering the scene, seeking out a needle to inject him. Kakarot was happy that there was none to be seen. He would keep it that way.

"Oh, the syringe!" Mrs. Brief said, throwing her hands in the air. "I'll get it for you."

As she hurried back into the ship, Kakarot shook his head. He held the vial before his eyes, gauging it's size and smoothness before meeting the curious eyes of his fellow Saiyans with a determined scowl. Kakarot tossed the vial over his head and opened his mouth wide, clamping his lips around the vial when its weight sank onto his tongue like a fluffy bed. As everyone gasped, Chi-Chi crying out for him to stop, Kakarot swallowed. It wasn't easy. The vial was much larger than any food or dose of medication he'd ever had. But with an effort-filled swallow and his hand aiding the downward propulsion of the vial lodged in his throat, Kakarot was able to force it to travel into the pit of his stomach. He smiled. He would _not_ have to fear any more needles.

"Okay..." Chi-Chi said, her eyes bulging and shoulders sagging.

Fasha crossed her arms. "You better not die digesting that glass."

Kakarot patted his belly and stood upright, free of Yamcha's hand which had fallen loose from his arm while he swallowed the vial. "I won't. I'll be fine. Now let's get out of here."

"We're leaving first," Yamcha said. "Bulma, pilot us out of here. I'll watch them."

"Yamcha," Master Roshi said, watching the glares setting on the Saiyans' faces as they crept forward. "We might both need to stay behind."

"Nah," Kakarot said with a wave as he strutted over to his friends. "Go."

"Go?" Chi-Chi repeated. "Just like that?"

Kakarot turned narrowed eyes on her. "Unless you'd like me to change my mind."

The engines roared to life, sending warm air in Kakarot's face. Yamcha's black locks batted against his face and Master Roshi's overcoat fluttered in the wind as Kakarot watched them. Chi-Chi was a picture of beauty, standing with her long, tied-back hair whipping against her cheeks, her arms crossed, her black eyes pooling with sadness and set on Kakarot. She looked like she wanted to be held, and Kakarot almost wanted to indulge her.

"Run, Chi-Chi," Yamcha said, pivoting for the ship. "Go!"

Kakarot clenched his jaw as he watched Chi-Chi run away from him, disappearing into the Hope ship. He imagined that was what it would've been like, had he killed her back on Earth. He'd seen many a woman run in the same way on past purges. There was no reason Chi-Chi should be any different. He could feel his comrades' eyes boring into him. They didn't understand what he was doing - of course they wouldn't. But he had always been a disappointment. There was no point stopping now, not when he was actually close to succeeding at something.

"You let them go," Turles said, seething.

"You really meant for it to happen that way, all those years ago, _didn't_ you?" Fasha said.

"No, I-"

"You little shit!" Toma screamed, lunging at Kakarot and grabbing him by the armor, plowing forward until Kakarot was knocked on his back and Toma was on top of him. "Your father died for this? Because you feel too guilty to kill a bunch of weaklings?"

"I don't," Kakarot said through clenched teeth as he caught Toma's fist in his palm, watching the yellow Hope ship disappear in the sky overhead, "feel guilty. I'm still going to kill them."

"You just wanted to get healthy first," Turles said, setting a pointed boot on Kakarot's shoulder and pressing down, "is that it, Kakarot?"

"Yes," Kakarot yelled, jerking his head back to avert the pain.

"Earthlings are nothing!" Toma said, tapping his finger hard and repeatedly into Kakarot's temple. "The sooner you realize the races we purge are nobodies, the better off you'll be."

"Yeah, well," Pumbukin snorted from behind Kakarot, "you'd better get a move on then. They're moving out fast."

Toma climbed off Kakarot, letting him rise just in time to see the flash of yellow slipping away into the rolling clouds of the atmosphere. As Pumbukin nodded toward the sky, Fasha followed his gaze, shielding her eyes and grinning.

"I know why Kakarot let them go," she said, before meeting Kakarot's gaze. "It's the hunt. Makes the kill so much more fun when you get to chase them."

"Right," Kakarot said with a sigh.

"He had plenty of chance to hunt them back on Earth," Turles said.

"Something got in the way," Kakarot drawled, balling his fists by his sides. "I enjoyed plenty of hunts back on Earth."

"Good," Toma said, his glower pointed at Kakarot saying otherwise.

"I'll need a ship. Fasha?"

"Take it."

Toma balked. "You're just gonna let him-"

"I'll squeeze in with Toma," Fasha said with a sly grin that put a blush on Toma's face.

"Does anyone know I'm with you?" Kakarot asked.

Pumbukin crossed his arms. "Sent word to Vegeta as soon as we heard from the Earthlings. They know."

"Good," Kakarot said, concealing a sly grin in the crook of his shoulder.

"You're all symptom-free now, huh?" Turles said. "That was fast."

"Yeah." Kakarot scratched his head. "Swallowing the vial whole worked, huh? Well anyway," he said as the others furrowed their brows at him, "I'd better launch. Catch those Earthlings. Make my late father proud."

"Yeah," Toma said. "Yeah, you'd better do that."

"You know," Turles called after Kakarot, "we wasted good fuel to save your sorry ass!"

Kakarot cracked a grin, his sights set on the open hatch of Fasha's ship. "That's not all you'll be wasting, Turles."

He sank into the soft cushion of Fasha's ship, slamming his palm on the remote to seal the hatch shut before his weight completely settled. As the other Saiyans disappeared from view, Kakarot smiled to himself. His crew was already dead, according to Frieza. He wouldn't miss them. Just like he wouldn't miss these guys. His excitement about taking out the humans began to fade as his borrowed ship levitated, waiting for his command.

If Frieza's men hunting him down did as Kakarot expected them to, they would trace him to this location. They would hopefully mistake Turles for Kakarot and kill him in his place. Kakarot could live on. He could kill the Earthlings to redeem his reputation as he'd wanted to do since he was a boy. But what good would that redemption do him, now that he would be officially dead to the PTO, as well as to the rest of the Saiyan race to whom he felt the need to prove himself?

Absently, he punched the coordinates for Namek. He only had to break his thoughts once when the ship's programming demanded his attention in order to chart his destination. When he resumed staring with his eyes out of focus, his mind on his plans, Kakarot clutched the seat for the ride propelling him into space, far behind the Earthlings. According to everything they'd said about Dragon Balls, they would need to find several of them on Namek before making their wish. Kakarot didn't need to be in a hurry. Which was good. Because he needed to know what to do once he arrived there. If killing them made no difference, what was he doing it for? He would travel to Namek regardless, because of the wish, of course. Yet if he could steal a wish for himself, at this point he had no idea what he should ask for.

" _Kakarot."_

Kakarot blinked back to awareness at Raditz's voice in his scouter. "Raditz?"

" _Where are you?"_

Kakarot raised a brow. His brother never just contacted him to check on his whereabouts. There was always something more to it. The fact that he'd recently been thrown in the middle of Kakarot's ruse to involve Prince Vegeta in his human hunt made Kakarot especially wary of this call. That event on Chelfiss could've ended badly on Raditz's end.

"I just left Toma's crew," Kakarot said.

" _Forget about wherever you're going and change course for Frieza Planet 53."_

Kakarot snorted. "No."

" _Dumbass, you'll do what I say! Now change your course!"_

"I'm in the middle of something, Raditz," Kakarot groaned, shifting in his seat. "I can't."

" _Prince Vegeta commanded you to come here."_

Kakarot chewed his bottom lip. "Why?"

A hesitant breath fluttered through Kakarot's scouter. _"I can't say over these public channels."_

Kakarot blinked. He lurched forward in the tiny space pod, drawing sporadic breaths as his heart began to pound furiously in his chest. If this was what he thought it was, it was too soon. There weren't many things Prince Vegeta would be afraid to express over scouter, but there was one thing he'd wanted for a long time now that would be deadly to say. He was going to kill Frieza. That was what Vegeta meant the last time they spoke, only Kakarot didn't know what it meant back at the prison.

Kakarot shook his head. "Raditz. He's not ready. He's going to get himself killed."

Raditz sighed. _"You'd better come."_

Kakarot gnawed his lip more furiously, his eyes darting back and forth as he gazed upon his worried expression reflected in the glass window. He didn't care much for Prince Vegeta, not more than any other Saiyan he'd allowed to die recently, but the Prince was working toward a goal all Saiyans wished to accomplish. If Frieza could be taken out, the universe could be free of a spiteful tyrant. King Vegeta could be an ass, but he stuck to his own people, and as long as they did what they were told, they were rewarded. Frieza didn't work that way, and Kakarot suspected his harsh rule was the only reason King Vegeta was as unforgiving as he was with his own people. If it hadn't been for Frieza, Kakarot knew his father would still be alive. He wouldn't have had to carry that guilt, and the hatred from his brother that came with it, along with the burden of his terrible reputation he'd carried all his life from his apparent failure back on Earth.

If it wasn't for Frieza, he never would've been sent to annihilate the Earthlings in the first place.

"Raditz," Kakarot sighed, pressing his forehead against the glass, "I really need to go to Namek."

" _Namek?"_

Kakarot's eyes shot open, an idea seizing him that had his blood pumping with excitement rather than fear. "I know! You should come to Namek. Tell Prince Vegeta!"

" _Kakarot,"_ Raditz groaned. _"I don't know why you're so hell bent on seeing a bunch of peace-loving slugs, but-"_

"Make sure," Kakarot said forcefully, "Frieza knows where you're heading."

" _Have you lost your mind? He wants you dead, you know. He's not going to follow Prince Vegeta's men to Namek."_

"Then tell Frieza I'll be there," Kakarot said, gritting his teeth as he realized what a lucky bastard Turles was, evading his fate. "He'll follow."

" _What's on Namek? Do the people there have some way of killing Frieza?"_

"Not the _people_ ," Kakarot said as he cast a glare into the expanse of space, the hint of a tiny green planet peeking out from the darkness. "Make sure he gets there, if Prince Vegeta really wants to finish him."


	19. Namek

Chi-Chi's chest tightened as she looked up into Namek's darkened sky, at the figure hovering over them. The dragon they'd summoned, his appearance was more imposing and horrifying than how she remembered Shenron. As different as the dragon were the Dragon Balls of this planet, which had been shared with them generously by the native Namekians. But they were kind, and they seemed unafraid of this dragon, though the respect for his power was immense. It radiated off the people in waves that felt so thick, they may as well have been visible. Chi-Chi gulped as her eyes spanned the crowd, including the boys Cargo and Dende, and Nail, who they'd all met on arrival here - _all_ the people, Earthling and Namekians alike, stunned into silence.

The dragon's voice boomed overhead, speaking words unintelligible to Chi-Chi's ears.

Nail raised his clawed fingers in the air. "Porunga!"

Yamcha, from Chi-Chi's left, cast her a sidelong glance. "Porunga?"

"Sh," Bulma snapped, from Chi-Chi's other side. "I want to hear what he's saying."

Chi-Chi raised a brow as words just as unintelligible as the first ones he spoke rolled off the dragon's tongue. "Does it matter? You're not going to understand that."

When something tapped at Chi-Chi's shoulder, she turned to find Master Roshi standing behind her. "You think he'll even understand our wish?"

"Yamcha!" Puar cried, his tail fluffing and arms waving frantically as he surged forward between Chi-Chi and Yamcha.

"Don't worry, Puar," Yamcha said, petting his jittery friend. "We'll make our wish."

Chi-Chi clasped her hands together and returned a smile to the elderly Namek leader she caught looking back at them. "We _have_ to save the other Earthlings."

"Right," Bulma said, her brows narrowing as her gaze returned to the imposing figure glowing in the dark sky.

A chorus of gasps disrupted Nail's conversation with Porunga, causing Chi-Chi to clutch Yamcha's arm and follow the Namekians' gazes to the sky. They were looking away from Porunga, but all toward the same place. A spark of reflecting light told Chi-Chi there was something else there, yet as she shielded her eyes with her hand and peered past Porunga's bright light, she couldn't tell what it was. A vibration shook the atmosphere. Murmurs filled the crowd.

The elder, Moori, turned to Yamcha. "Were more of you coming?"

"No!" Nail said, growling as he bared his teeth, tracking the now-visible incoming ship. "Is that-it's PTO! Those look like Saiyan ships!"

"That's right."

Chi-Chi's eyes bulged, the familiar voice behind her making her body go rigid. He couldn't be here. They were free of him. She was never going to see Goku again, she thought. She turned around, hoping she was wrong. When her eyes lit on his cocky smirk over his Saiyan uniform, his head tilting as their eyes met, she was relieved to see she wasn't.

"What is _wrong_ with me?" Chi-Chi said.

"Chi-Chi?"

Chi-Chi tried to ignore Bulma's look of concern, as well as the way her heart fluttered as Goku strutted toward them. A million thoughts raced through her mind. He was finally going to kill them. Or maybe this reunion was another coincidence and he was here to do to Namek what he'd done to Earth. Or he knew about the Dragon Balls. Or maybe...maybe he was here for her in a non-lethal way. Of all the possibilities, the latter felt the least likely, but it was the one Chi-Chi's mind returned to most often as these thoughts cycled through her brain.

"Right now, Prince Vegeta and his crew are landing here," Goku said, pointing to the sky. As the Nameks exchanged worried glances, Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes at Goku's smug smile. "But they're not the worst of your problems."

"Oh yeah?" Chi-Chi huffed, bracing her hands on her hips. "They're supposed to be scared of _you_? Just look at their dragon! They could wish you away in an instant. They should."

Before Chi-Chi could turn to the Nameks to give them a suggestive raise of her brows, Goku laughed. " _If_ I choose to threaten them, yeah they should be scared," he said nonchalantly and wide-eyed. "But it's not me I'm talking about."

Chi-Chi's brows furrowed as Master Roshi stepped forward with a deep hum. " _If_ you choose to threaten them, you say? You're not here for violence?"

"No," Goku said with a wide grin. "Does that surprise you?"

Chi-Chi felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter and bat against her insides. He wasn't here with violent intentions. So he was likely here for her. What other reason could draw him here?

Chi-Chi's eyes darted from Goku's handsome smile just long enough to notice Bulma's face turned red at her side before Bulma stepped in front of her. "So what are you doing bringing those assholes _here_? You might not intend violence, but you've gotta be dense if you think the prince of all Saiyans doesn't!"

"Wait," Master Roshi said. "Who is the worst of our problems?"

Goku tore his gaze from Bulma's fierce glare to blink at Master Roshi. "Huh?"

"You claim you're not here to threaten anyone," Yamcha said, gripping Bulma's shoulder amazingly gently, considering the glare he was sending Goku. "But you said the other Saiyans aren't the worst of our problems."

"Oh yeah," Goku said, his eyes sparking. "Frieza's coming."

A scream rang out from the crowd of Namekians before Bulma gasped, "Lord Frieza?"

"You brought _him_ here?" Chi-Chi said, blinking out of her stupor brought on by the whirlwind of damning information. She snapped a glare at Goku. "You brought him here? Couldn't handle killing us yourself, huh? So you had to bring Frieza into it? And endanger all these innocent Namekians, too?" She thrust a finger into his chest, tapping until it hurt. "We've worked so hard for this wish and you are not going to get in the way! You and your stupid Saiyans can have your mindless battles elsewhere. Get them off this planet!"

Goku stared at her, the rest of the crowd stunned into silence until he said, "I can't."

Growling Chi-Chi lunged for him, but Goku caught her in his arms, laughing. "Is this wish really that important to you? You really do care about those other Earthlings, huh?"

"Are you serious right now?" Yamcha asked as Puar loosed a sad sigh.

"You can wish for anything from this dragon," Goku said, "like you wished to be free of me on Earth, right?"

"Yes," Chi-Chi drawled, turning her wrists in Goku's grasp as she became painfully aware of her close proximity to his warm, solid chest. "How do you know about that?"

"Doesn't matter. We don't have much time. I need to use that dragon to wish for something else."

"No way," Bulma said, pressing her lips together and shaking her head. "We are wishing the humans back to life."

"If you don't use your wish as I say," Goku whined, "we're _all_ going to be dead. Then what good is resurrecting dead Earthlings?"

"Goku," Chi-Chi said, sighing as she looked into Goku's eyes filled with confusion and frustration. "You really don't get it, do you? Life is important, not just _our_ lives. Can't you see that?"

"Ever since we left Earth, for ten years now," Bulma said, more calmly than before, "all we've really wanted was to restore life to the lost Earthlings and return to our home."

"Your home has been laid to waste," Goku said, a grimace forming on his face. "The PTO's been draining its bountiful resources for its own use for the past ten years. No one lives there, probably because now it's unlivable. You should forget about the Earthlings and _focus_ on defeating Frieza."

"Which is exactly what we came here to do."

The gravely voice in the distance made Chi-Chi turn her head along with the rest of the crowd, loosing herself from Goku's grasp. On top of the green hill just above their valley stood a trio of Saiyans. Prince Vegeta being the most recognizable, but it was clear by their expressions and attention focused on Goku that they knew him.

"Saiyans," Nail growled. "We don't want your kind here."

"Listen, Nameks," growled the big, bald Saiyan at Prince Vegeta's side, "we don't care much for your kind either. If you want to get in our way, we could _take_ you out of the way."

As the big man punched his gloved fist into his open hand, Prince Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Easy, Nappa. I want to know why Kakarot lured us here. And what is _that_ thing?"

The red eyes of the massive dragon catching Prince Vegeta's attention narrowed to slits as he murmured something in the Namekian tongue. Chi-Chi stifled a smile. It sounded like an insult, and it pleased her to see Saiyan royalty insulted to his face.

"That thing is the reason we're here," Kakarot said with a sly smile. "Is Frieza coming?"

"Lord Frieza, Kakarot," the long-haired Saiyan at Prince Vegeta's other side said as he tapped his scouter with a grimace. "Dammit, you're going to get us in trouble."

"Who cares?" Goku said, beaming. "When we wish to be Super Saiyans, we'll defeat Frieza. We don't need to be scared of him."

" _Super_ Saiyans?" Prince Vegeta said, his eyes going wide. "Why not wish for immortality?"

"I'd rather fight Frieza at his level, wouldn't you? It's more fun this way."

Prince Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "When it comes to Lord Frieza, I like knowing I can't lose."

"Super Saiyans, though," the long haired Saiyan said with a look of awe, stroking his chin. "Is it really possible?"

"Yes," said Porunga.

Chi-Chi watched Goku's eyes light with a passion like she'd never seen on anyone before as his gaze turned to the dragon. The gasps from the other Saiyans echoed his feelings. Apparently, this Super Saiyan thing wasn't a legend limited to Brolly, but Chi-Chi had no idea what it was all about, or why it would be favored over immortality. She was only glad these Saiyans wouldn't be wishing for immortality. Still, she wouldn't let them steal their long-awaited wish.

"I wish to be a Super Saiyan!" Goku shouted at Porunga.

Chi-Chi tensed. She didn't expect him to act so fast. "No!"

"You?" Prince Vegeta snarled.

"What about the rest of us, you bastard?" The long-haired Saiyan yelled, shaking his fist at Goku.

"I cannot grant your wish," Porunga said, his voice rumbling like the dark clouds rolling over them.

"Ha!" Chi-Chi said, while the Saiyans snorted.

"You just said you could!" Goku cried.

"I only grant wishes spoken in the Namekian tongue."

Bulma whirled on the Nameks, raising her finger. "Don't make that wish."

Nail raised a brow. "Does it look like we're in any hurry for that to happen?"

"You _should_ be," Prince Vegeta snarled. "Because in case any of you morons have forgotten, Lord Frieza is on his way here to kill us all!"

"He might not kill us," Moori muttered.

"Yeah," Nappa drawled with a smirk, "keep telling yourself that."

Prince Vegeta chuckled. "I'm sure your disillusionment will save you. As for the rest of you," he said, shooting Chi-Chi a glare that radiated hatred. "You're either with us, or you'll die with us."

Groaning, Chi-Chi turned to lock eyes with Bulma. Her gaze panned across the disappointed faces of Master Roshi, Oolong, her father, the Briefs, and Yamcha and Puar, before coming back to Bulma. She saw the least disappointment on her faces, but the most determination.

With a grunt, Chi-Chi turned to Nail. "Make our wish."

" _Our_ wish?" Goku balked as Nail turned his gaze to the sky and rattled off unintelligible words. "You don't mean-"

"I cannot grant your wish," Porunga said. "Only one life can be restored with each of your three wishes."

Chi-Chi felt the green world crush down on her. The darkness fell heavily from the terrifying expanse of sky above as the dragon's words echoed in her mind. _Only one life can be restored_. They wouldn't be able to revive the Earthlings as they'd dreamt of doing. Not even with three wishes. All these years of searching and accomplishing the impossible had been for nothing.

" _Three_ wishes?" Goku squealed.

"Yes," Porunga said. "Make your wishes soon. I am losing my patience."

"Oh!" a group of Namekian children cried out, one stepping forward with his hands clapped together, uttering a Namekian expression of apology to the dragon.

As the dragon hummed at the boy, Chi-Chi assumed any offense had been forgiven and the dragon was willing to wait. But on what? What else could they possibly want, aside from giving Goku what he wanted. Chi-Chi wanted nothing to do with pleasing him _or_ these other Saiyans.

"Hey, kids," Goku called to the Namekian boys. "Can you wish _now_ that the dragon will let us be Super Saiyans? We could probably do it ourselves, but we don't know how and we're a little short on time here."

The boy who'd addressed Porunga looked at Nail. "What should we do? Lord Frieza is coming to our planet."

"I know," Nail growled, gritting his teeth as he looked to Yamcha and Master Roshi. "Any other ideas?"

"Oh, I have one," Prince Vegeta drawled from across the way, an irate sneer forming on his face. "Why don't you do as Kakarot suggested, but make _me_ a Super Saiyan?"

"Because we don't want to do that," Nail said. "There has to be some other way."

"What other way?" Bulma said, exploding from the quiet state she'd entered since they heard of the hiccup in their wish. "The Earth is doomed to stay dead! These are the only other dragon balls in the universe, as far as I know! Even if there were others, it would take us decades to find them. Decades we don't have!"

"Now wait a minute," Master Roshi said. "There is still one way to save the people of Earth."

Chi-Chi gasped. "What?"

"How?" Yamcha said.

"Porunga," Master Roshi said as he pivoted toward the dragon and raised his intense gaze toward the sky. "We wish to revive Kami, guardian of the planet Earth!"

As Nail gave the Namekian boy a permissive nod, and the boy started speaking in that foreign tongue, Master Roshi turned back to Chi-Chi and the others, smiling. Chi-Chi blinked. Kami? Earth's guardian? How was he going to save the Earth?

"Kami, huh?" Goku said, chuckling. "What's that old man got to do with any of this?"

"He was Earth's guardian," Master Roshi said, smiling toward the sky as the clouds swirled in a vortex and the dragon's eyes glowed a brilliant shade of red, "but he was also the creator of Earth's dragon balls."

"Aw, yeah!" Yamcha said, pumping a fist in the air. "If _he's_ back, that means Earth's dragon balls-"

"Are back!" Puar squealed, exchanging a smile with Yamcha.

Chi-Chi blinked, a smile spreading from ear to ear as the meaning of all of this became clear to her. "Which means we can gather Earth's dragon balls and wish everyone back!"

"Oh," Bulma said, her bright smile dropping into a frown as she pressed a finger to her lip. "But the Earth is still destroyed. Hey, Porunga! Can you restore the Earth's natural resources?"

As Nail shrugged, giving the boy a dubious nod, a hand wrapped around Chi-Chi's wrist. She was pulled into Goku's hard chest armor, her eyes lured to Goku's glare being cast toward the Namekians.

"Hey!" Goku said as the boy rattled off their latest wish, "you're using all the wishes!"

"Waste that last wish on the Earthlings, kid," the long-haired Saiyan said, "and you're dead."

A blast tore through the crowd, causing Nail to scream as Chi-Chi jumped back with the others. Another agonized yell came from Nail, who writhed on the ground, clutching his shoulder. Chi-Chi glared over her shoulder in the direction of the blast's origin to find Prince Vegeta's hand raised toward Nail, his expression a twisted smile.

"You bastard," Chi-Chi said.

"Enough!" Prince Vegeta yelled at the gasping crowd of Namekians. "You'll wish me to be Super Saiyan now, or you'll all die."

"Great threat," Nail sneered, blood oozing from his lips as he strained to sit up and meet the prince's gaze. "When you already bring Lord Frieza here to kill us all anyway."

The prince shrugged. "I guess that puts a damper on my threat. Maybe I just _wanted_ to hurt you."

A boom shook the atmosphere before anyone could respond. The prince's eyes went wide as he steadied himself, clenched his fists, and cursed to the sky.

"Frieza," Goku breathed in Chi-Chi's ear, his fingers digging deeper into her skin. "He's here."

"No!" Nappa called, before shaking a fist at Nail. "Make the wish now!"

"Hurry!" Goku said.

The boy turned his head side to side, confusion and fear in his beady eyes. "Wh-what do I do?"

Chi-Chi gnawed her bottom lip as she watched fear spread through the crowd, the urgency of their decision becoming apparent as the yellow ship in the atmosphere grew larger with the closing of its distance. They had brought all of this trouble to Namek. They hadn't tried to, but Goku wouldn't be here if he hadn't followed them. And the Saiyans and Lord Frieza were coming due to Goku's stupid plan.

Chi-Chi couldn't deny that Lord Frieza's death would help the universe and ensure a possible future for Earth once it was restored. It was Lord Frieza who wanted Earth in the first place. If he were to learn of its restoration, it would only be in danger again. _Someone_ had to defeat him. Chi-Chi looked into Goku's eyes. He'd been hurt by Lord Frieza in the past, too. It was clear that the loss of his father hurt him. There was no doubt in Chi-Chi's mind he wanted Lord Frieza dead, perhaps more than she did. He could defeat Lord Frieza, she believed, if he had the strength. But there was one problem.

She didn't know if she could trust him. Maybe with the great power of a Super Saiyan, with the defeat of Lord Frieza, he would become an even worse monster. He had his bright spots now, but power could pull him too deep into darkness. It could make him something to fear worse than Lord Frieza. Chi-Chi shivered at the thought of a power-crazed Lord Kakarot controlling the universe. She sought in Goku's eyes any sign to keep her from believing such a thing could happen.

At first, all she saw there was his anger and determination. She could see how hungry he was for this fight. But as his eyes looked into hers, not seeing _through_ her, she saw a spark of something else. His concern, not only for himself, but for her. She'd like to believe it was concern for all the defenseless Nameks and her friends who would die here, but she told herself that was only wishful thinking. She wished she could know - really know - his real intentions. But she couldn't.

"Well?" an elder Namekian raised his brows as at Chi-Chi, while the ground at their feet vibrated with Lord Frieza's landing.

"Never mind your stupid wish," Prince Vegeta said, raising his chin as figures levitated into the sky above the ship's faraway landing site. "I'm ready to defeat Frieza, with or without immortality. You'll see, Kakarot. I'm ready to become the Super Saiyan, all on my own!"

As Goku bared his teeth and snapped his gaze in the same direction the prince was looking, Chi-Chi whimpered. She doubted the prince had mastered such a transformation, when he was willing to wish for it only moments ago. She'd seen the way Saiyans displayed their bravado, and this struck her as such an occurrence. She knew Goku was well aware of his shortcoming in that department. He'd said they could master it themselves, and Chi-Chi wondered if it was really possible. She felt bad for not urging the dragon to grant that wish for him, which would make this battle so much easier. But she didn't regret her decision when she thought of what might come after. She knew her friends would question her sanity if she ever decided to help Goku in such a way. But she couldn't foresee anything good coming next. She didn't want to know what was going to happen.

She wished she could stop all the fighting and return home to her peaceful Earth.


	20. With Feeling

Kakarot tried to calm his breathing, but his heart was pounding out of control. The worst part was, he knew he should've been petrified about certain and painful death. Frieza never killed anyone the easy way, but when they betrayed him or disobeyed him the way Kakarot had, it was far worse. His plan to fight at Frieza's level as Super Saiyans had failed. If only he could find the way to drive the transformation to the surface. He'd love to return just one beating to Frieza, of all the ones he'd been delivered at either Frieza's hand or Frieza's command. He needed some edge, though, or that would never happen. Vegeta wasn't a Super Saiyan. He knew it as well as Kakarot knew it. He was only too proud to admit it. The only edge they had here was numbers, familiarity with the location, and what little tools they might be able to muster.

"What about that tech?" Kakarot asked as he turned to Bulma. "Can you set it up here?"

"Tech?" Prince Vegeta asked. "What tech?"

As Bulma's eyes went wide, Kakarot growled. They were wasting time. " _Can_ you?"

"Uh - I would need something to buy me some time. Ki tech isn't the easiest thing to setup, you know."

"Ki tech?" Prince Vegeta scoffed. "To do _what_?"

"Prevent anyone from firing off ki," Bulma said with a lift of her chin. "I invented it and tested it myself. Works like a charm. If you guys can buy me some time to set it up, I can make sure Lord Frieza doesn't use his ki against anyone here on Namek."

Vegeta dropped his chin. "Genius. Stop Lord Frieza from using ki, since his favorite methods of torturing and killing involve crushing, ripping and _goring_ his victims."

Bulma's jaw dropped. "Ex _cuse_ me! I've never fought against Lord Frieza like you dumb, muscle-bound monkeys!"

"Monkeys?"

"Prince Vegeta!" Nappa seized Vegeta before he could lunge at Bulma in a fit of rage. "Lord Frieza, remember? He's coming! What are we gonna do?"

"Fool!" Vegeta said as he shook free of Nappa's grasp. "I told you. I'll transform. We don't need this woman's useless technology or Kakarot's wish."

"Useless technology?" Bulma seethed.

When Chi-Chi tore free of Kakarot's grip to spring toward her friend, Kakarot felt a wave of emptiness and cold where there had been warmth. He didn't realize he'd been holding her. He didn't realize how good it made him feel with her pressed against his body, not until now, when he'd lost that contact. He couldn't keep contact with her now, anyway. Not when he was about to fight Frieza. He needed her far from the fight. He realized he didn't want to see anything happen to her, and it wasn't only because it would happen at Frieza's hands, not his. Somewhere along the way, some part of him had decided not to let anything happen to Chi-Chi without letting the rest of him in on that decision.

He scratched his head. "When did that happen?"

"What, Goku?" Chi-Chi said, snapping her gaze to meet his eyes while she rubbed Bulma's arms and held her irate friend.

"N-nothing!" he exclaimed, clearing his throat and his mind as he determined to focus on Frieza and the upcoming fight.

"Kakarot!" Raditz yelled. "Get your head on Lord Frieza."

"I am! I mean, it is!" Kakarot said defensively.

"We should just kill them now," Nappa said. "Clear the battlefield before we get started."

"Clear the battlefield?" Yamcha balked.

"We're _not_ killing them," Kakarot said. "We're here to kill Frieza."

He ignored the gasps from the humans and curious looks the Nameks were giving him behind his back, setting his glare on his fellow Saiyans. His brother stared at Kakarot as if he'd just stabbed him in the back. Nappa sneered. Vegeta looked disgusted.

"I think we _should_ kill the Earthlings now, Nappa," Vegeta said. "They're a liability, apparently. Looks like they're making Kakarot grow soft."

Kakarot scoffed. "Soft?"

"You can't be serious about working with these weaklings, Kakarot," Raditz said.

"It's bad enough you never killed them back on Earth," Vegeta said. "You wanted them dead again back on Chelfiss, _didn't_ you? Why aren't they dead yet?"

Kakarot's jaw dropped as he looked to the humans, who seemed to be seeing him in a new light. Their stares were void of animosity, filling with awe and confusion the longer he looked at them. He didn't want them to believe he'd been sparing them _intentionally_. That was never his intent, and from the perspective of the Saiyans here, it only made him look bad. The humans feeding him with any sort of sympathetic emotion only made him look worse. And with the way Chi-Chi especially looked at him, her eyes full of some deeper emotion than he'd ever received from anyone, his lack of determination to make the kill was apparent. Kakarot grabbed at his hair, tempted to pull on it as he was stuck at a loss for words while deeply in need of explaining himself to dig himself out of this hole.

"Aw, Prince Vegeta," Frieza's voice drawled, drawing a chill up Kakarot's spine. "Are you disappointed your men are failing to fulfill your orders? That's too bad. They must be losing respect for you."

"Actually, Lord Frieza," Vegeta said through clenched teeth, his arms equally rigid at his sides as he turned to face the tyrant, "it's _your_ orders they're failing to deliver on. You're already well aware of Kakarot's shortcomings, aren't you?"

"Oh?" Frieza said, raising a brow as he panned his gaze across the faces of the Saiyans, briefly meeting Kakarot's eyes. "Kakarot should be dead now, but I'll deal with him later. I believe the rest of you have an issue in regards to respect which needs to be addressed here. I notice you're all on this planet for some reason. Dodoria," he said with a glimpse over his shoulder, "did I order any monkeys to Planet Namek?"

Nappa growled. "We're not monkeys!"

"Nappa!" Vegeta snapped, his lip twitching over his bared teeth.

Dodoria and Zarbon, flanking Frieza, cast devious smiles to the Saiyans. "No, my lord," Dodoria answered. "They have no reason for being here."

Frieza tsked. "What bad little monkeys. Now tell me, what do you want with this low-grade planet?"

"Nothing," Raditz said.

Frieza narrowed his eyes. "Right. Well, since there's nothing of importance on this planet, and I see far too many people staring at me," he said as he turned his glare on the Nameks and the Earthlings, "while you're all here, you might as well kill these Nameks for me, and these...Earthlings, aren't they? Kakarot, what are they still doing alive? I figured if you escaped my wrath, you would _at least_ take out the Earthlings for yourself."

"I needed them."

"Ah." Frieza nodded with a curt smile. "Well, _now_ you don't. Kill them."

"Why should I?"

Frieza's smile fell. "Excuse me?"

"You're going to kill me anyway, aren't you?"

Frieza sighed. "You still have potential to be useful, _if_ you can follow directions. If you do this for me, Kakarot, I may be able to forgive your infractions."

"I don't believe you."

"Of course, forgiveness comes with building trust," Frieza said with a sly smile. "In order to restore my trust, of course I expect you to teach me that technique you were so resistant to share. If you do _that_ , I can forgive you as well as Prince Vegeta and Nappa."

"Prince Vegeta and Nappa?" Kakarot asked, turning to look at Raditz with furrowed brows.

A beam of red cut across Kakarot's vision. It was like his world was washed in darkness, the only thing visible to him that red beam as his brother's scream tore through the air. Groaning, Kakarot followed the beam to see it penetrating his brother's armor. Blood seeped from the edges of Raditz's lips as Raditz's terror-struck gaze met Kakarot's. It was like seeing what happened to his father all over again. Raditz has always been an asshole to him, but he was still Kakarot's family. Maybe Frieza would let him live. This injury wasn't necessarily fatal, if Kakarot could make him stop.

"Frieza!" Kakarot cried.

Another beam cut through Raditz, so impossibly fast that Kakarot didn't realize it until his brother's body hit the ground.

" _Lord_ Frieza," Frieza sneered, drawing his lethal finger to his side.

"You - you killed Raditz, you bastard!" Nappa cried.

Baring his teeth, Kakarot raced to Raditz's side. He knelt down to touch his sweat-covered forehead, and found his brother cold to the touch. Blood was quickly draining from his chest, pooling around his body. It was too much. Frieza's beam had punctured his heart. Kakarot grunted, fighting back tears that burned behind his eyes. He didn't want to watch his brother die. It wasn't only Raditz's death upsetting him. This was painfully similar to the way his father had died. His mother would be devastated. With a gasp, Kakarot looked up. His mother was his only surviving family member, likely to be the next used against him. The thought of Frieza touching her enraged him. Kakarot knew Frieza _would_ use her, too, in a downward spiral of events which would lead to Kakarot's own death - unless he did what Frieza said.

But what Frieza wanted was the Earthlings' blood on Kakarot's hands, and the means to kill millions more once that technique was taught. Weeks ago, Kakarot would have gladly killed them. But now...killing Chi-Chi was impossible. If he was honest with himself, killing her friends wouldn't even come easily. But it was mostly killing Chi-Chi that made the tears budging to the surface impossible to fight. He couldn't allow anything to happen to his mother, like what just happened to Raditz. He couldn't allow anything to happen to Chi-Chi. As he watched his brother's eyes drift closed, the fingers clamped around his hand loosening their grip, Kakarot growled. He wouldn't let Frieza win. There was only one way to stop him. Frieza had to die. Kakarot _had_ to win this fight. Kakarot knew he had no chance of winning.

"You...monster," Kakarot breathed.

"What was that?" Frieza asked. "Saying your final goodbyes?"

Kakarot shot him a glare. "No."

"No? Good. I've never been one for sentimental rubbish. Especially between brothers."

"I _won't_ kill the Earthlings, Frieza. I'm done following your orders."

"You won't?" Frieza repeated through clenched teeth. "Is that right?"

"No Saiyan will ever follow orders from you again, Frieza," Vegeta said, stepping forward.

"Oh yes they will, unless all Saiyans would like to _die_. That, I will gladly accommodate."

"We're not dying either," Vegeta said with a smirk, raising his fists for battle. "Today is the day the Super Saiyan will be born."

"Super Saiyan?" Frieza barked out a laugh, before baring his teeth at Vegeta. "Fine. I am disappointed in all of you. Mostly you, Vegeta."

"Good," Vegeta said, thrusting his thumb into his chest. "I never wanted you proud of me anyway. I'll be proud for _myself_."

With a sly smile, Frieza met Kakarot's gaze, his hand raising slowly. Kakarot panicked when he caught sight of Bulma standing frozen in fear by Chi-Chi's side. No precautions had been taken to stop Frieza, and now it was too late for Bulma's ki technology. Frieza had his sights set on the Earthlings, and he was going to start with _her_. Kakarot grit his teeth, Frieza's movements playing in slow motion as every second ticked by, feeling more and more crucial. He should let it happen, he knew. Based on all his programming and training, and the mistake he'd wanted to correct all these years, he _had_ to want the humans dead.

He didn't want _Frieza_ to kill them, he told himself. Nothing about Frieza killing them redeemed his reputation. But who cared about reputation now? Now it meant nothing in this universe. His programming and old missions meant nothing. The truth was, he didn't want Chi-Chi to die. In this universe full of meaninglessness, there was nothing better for him than a woman he could fight _and_ love. She was a challenge that gave him a rush and made him feel things. The softness and strength he could feel from her all at once was all tucked in this small, beautiful package of anger and spite.

He loved that woman. He would rather die than watch _her_ die.

At the sight of Frieza's hand glowing red at the tip, one last surge of crazed panic rushed through Kakarot's mind. Kakarot threw himself _into_ the line of fire. At this point, this was the only way he knew how to stop Frieza. Kakarot was taking his decision to rather die than let Chi-Chi die more literally than he'd intended, but this was the cost of his impetuous nature.

Razor-sharp ki tore through Kakarot's shoulder, splitting like shards of shrapnel traveling through his arm and across his shoulders as he fell on his back. He hit the ground with a grunt, his body skidding across the ground, pebbles and rocks tearing at the areas of his back not protected by armor.

The ground vibrated at his side before he'd even stopped moving. Warm arms wrapped around him, tugging him forcefully off the ground and burying the pain deeper as he was forced to move _into_ the pain.

"Oh, Goku!" Chi-Chi cried in his ear, her breath warm and her grip violent as she rocked him and crushed her chest against him. "Why did you do that? You're so _stupid_! How are you going to beat Lord Frieza now?"

"Uh, Chi-Chi," Kakarot choked, "can you let me go? That hurts."

"Oh!" She let go, dropping him to the ground. "Right. Sorry. You can't be finished yet! You're the only one here who has a chance."

"Oh no, he's _not_ ," Vegeta said, his voice full of determination. "Forget the Earthlings, Frieza. When this is over between us, I'll kill them myself, even if Kakarot's gone weak. Worry about _me_ now."

Kakarot winced, knowing the prince was about to step up and fight Frieza, buying him the time he needed, but Vegeta was in for a lot of pain. After the prince screamed and his power whipped across the battlegrounds, the first clash of fists sounded. Kakarot focused his attention on Chi-Chi. He couldn't watch what was about to happen to Prince Vegeta, not while he was still suffering from his own pain at Frieza's hands. He needed a distraction. Chi-Chi, with her pretty eyes narrowed and lips turned down in a deep scowl, was the perfect distraction.

"Now you sound like a frightened Earthling," Kakarot said, forcing a smile before he laughed at the deepening of Chi-Chi's frown. "This added wound is just a challenge to work around. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I _am_ an Earthling," Chi-Chi said before a smile graced her face and her fingers stroked at Kakarot's cheek. "Though, maybe some alien ways have rubbed off on me since getting to know you."

"Rubbed off, eh?" Master Roshi said, wiggling his brows. "You've been holding out on us with some juicy information, haven't you, Chi-Chi?"

As Chi-Chi reared back her lip to growl at the old man, a spark of light caught Kakarot's eye. Something flew into Namek's atmosphere like a shooting star, hurtling past the stunned Namekians. Kakarot's eyes widened as he saw it explode in the sky, a familiar feeling coursing through him before Vegeta started laughing behind him.

"Kakarot," Chi-Chi said, "what's happening?"

"Blutz waves," Kakarot said, snapping his gaze to Nappa and Vegeta, whose red eyes and throbbing hands were already showing sign of the transformation. "I'll be damned."

"They're - they're transforming!" Bulma cried.

"Prince Vegeta found a way to create a full moon," Kakarot said with a smile.

The ground crunched, causing Kakarot to turn and see Chi-Chi stepping away from him. "When are _you_ going to start transforming?"

"Me?" Kakarot frowned. "Don't worry. I can't anymore, not since I lost my tail. I can still feel the blutz waves though."

"Oh," Chi-Chi said, looking surprisingly sympathetic.

Kakarot chuckled as he stood to his feet, impressed. "Maybe Prince Vegeta _can_ defeat Frieza."

Shadows stretched across them and over the crowd of Namekians as the Great Apes grew to tower over them in the sky. Kakarot braced his hands on his hips and looked up, temporarily forgetting the pain in his shoulder as he marveled at the spectacular size and power of the two Great Apes standing over Frieza.

As Nappa lunged at Frieza and the tyrant disappeared in a blur of pink, purple and white, Chi-Chi's trembling fingers furled into Kakarot's skin-tight uniform sleeve. Kakarot yanked free of her grasp, lunging toward the action with a cheer flying from his lips. This fight was going to be amazing. Ear-piercing roars of pain splintered the crowd. One great Ape was down - Nappa.

"I can't look!" Chi-Chi cried.

"I never thought I'd live to see one of those taken down so easily," Master Roshi breathed.

"Me, neither! It couldn't have been easy," Kakarot said, his fingers twitching as he watched Vegeta's giant fist pummel into Frieza, and the overlord push it away, unscathed. "Frieza's power is amazing! I didn't even see him move, did you?"

Chi-Chi scoffed. "No!"

"He-hey, Guys," Oolong whimpered. "You know when he's done with those Giant Apes, he's going to kill us, right? Why don't we _move while we still can_?"

Kakarot felt the boiling of his blood, heated by the fuel of this fight. He wanted to feel those hits surging with power, to land those punches with his own two fists. He wanted to see where he would stand against a power as great as Frieza's, even though the faces of his fighting Saiyan companions were drawn into scowls of terror and agony. He knew fighting would hurt, would most likely kill him, but he still wanted it.

"You're right," Kakarot said, rising to his feet and swinging his arm until the pain in his shoulder was a mere echo of the pain he'd felt on first impact. "I need to join the fight _now_. Otherwise it'll be over too soon."

"That's not what I-"

"Goku!" Chi-Chi yelled, her voice like needles through his ears. "You can't be serious. You're not going in there!"

"Chi-Chi," Kakarot said, casting a smile over his shoulder. "I can't help it. It's in my blood to fight."

As Kakarot turned and ran, Chi-Chi's voice struck him like a ki blast. "Idiot! You moron!"

"Chi-Chi!" Bulma's voice cut Chi-Chi off, sounding suddenly inspired. "Let him go for now. I've got this, Goku!"

Kakarot stumbled in his step, furrowing his brows as Bulma's words turned over in his mind, making no sense. Smart as Bulma was, Kakarot couldn't imagine her being of any use in this scenario. But it seemed Chi-Chi was done berating him, and she wasn't pursuing him into the battlefield. That was enough for Kakarot.

He could focus completely on Frieza and the spectacular battle to the death they would have.


	21. Super Saiyan

Chi-Chi couldn't tear her eyes from him. Her Goku was out there. Well, he wasn't really _her_ Goku. He wasn't really Goku. Kakarot was holding his own, at least for the time being. But it was obvious that Frieza was going easy on him. He wanted that technique only Goku could teach him. He wouldn't kill him if he could avoid it. But Nappa - Chi-Chi couldn't tell if he was still alive. Maybe playing dead, laying like a limp Ape was his smartest move as Prince Vegeta took the lead with the battle.

Shock waves brushed toward them, nearly knocking Chi-Chi off her feet as her loose hair whipped against her faces. She had to throw up a protective arm against the swirls of dirt and water spraying at them, shooting off the grounds, rocks and water between where she stood and where the fighters had traveled during the impossibly fast movements of their combat. As the energy blasts stopped prickling at her face, Chi-Chi lowered her arm and peered through the swirling dust. She could still see Goku. He was levitating and facing Lord Frieza under his own control.

"Chi-Chi," Bulma said, pulling on Chi-Chi's arm. "We need to make the final wish to Porunga."

"We do?"

"If _we_ don't," Bulma said as she gave Chi-Chi's arm another tug, failing to move her, "Frieza will. Besides. Goku's going to die out there if we don't do something."

"Goku," Chi-Chi moaned, her eyes fixating on Frieza's strike to her lover's unprotected jaw, before she turned to Bulma with a gasp. "You care what happens to Goku, Bulma?"

Bulma shrugged, giving Chi-Chi a smile as she loosened her grip. "Well it's obvious enough that you do."

Yamcha pressed his face between them, planting his hands on Bulma and Chi-Chi's shoulders. "That's enough for me."

"Besides," Bulma said with a nervous chuckle, "he's kind of our only chance of getting off this planet alive now."

"So...we're going to make a wish to help Goku?"

Bulma groaned as she pulled Chi-Chi by the hand and began running toward Porunga. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes."

"Hurry up!" Yamcha yelled, running ahead of them with Puar buzzing around his head.

Chi-Chi huffed as she increased her speed, swinging her free wrist at her side while pulled to the dragon by Bulma. Now that she knew she was going to make a wish to help Goku, she wasn't going to waste any time. He didn't have long, as far as she could see. Even if Lord Frieza wasn't going to kill him, all he needed was a defeat. If Goku surrendered or was rendered unconscious and taken into Lord Frieza's ship by Zarbon or Dodoria, it would be too late to help him. Chi-Chi wasn't sure what kind of wish to make to help him. Immortality wouldn't save the rest of them - Goku needed to be _stronger_ to defeat Frieza. Something felt _off_ about the idea of wishing for the Super Saiyan transformation for Goku, though. Chi-Chi couldn't put her finger on why, but as she came face to face with Porunga again, the giant dragon with his bulky green muscles looking down on them while a few Nameks slipped out of their hiding places, Chi-Chi _knew_ it didn't feel right. But she also knew it was exactly what Bulma was about to wish for.

"Nail!" Bulma called, huffing to catch her breath. "We need to wish for Goku to be a Super Saiyan _now_!"

Nail balked. "Super Saiyan? That's what he wanted to wish for."

"We know," Yamcha said, "but we need him to win against Lord Frieza or we're all dead."

The elder Namekian nodded at Yamcha. " _And_ we need to use this final wish, or Lord Frieza will hurt my family until one of us wishes for whatever he demands." He turned toward Porunga and spoke the wish in his foreign tongue.

Porunga growled. "I cannot fulfill that wish because I cannot grant power greater than my own."

"But!" Chi-Chi huffed. "You said-"

"I said it was possible for those Saiyans to gain the Super Saiyan transformation!" Porunga roared, crossing his arms. "Now I've been summoned for far too long."

Bulma's jaw dropped before she raised a hand in the air. "S-sorry for the holdup, Porunga! We have a wish, I promise! Just give us a second!" She turned to Chi-Chi and Yamcha with a frown. "Now what?"

Chi-Chi looked at Yamcha. She could see a struggle for an answer in his dark eyes, written as plainly on his face as it had to be on hers. Her eyes darted to the battlefield, though Chi-Chi knew that wasn't where her attention needed to be focused at the moment. Even if she didn't care about anyone fighting, the loud screams, roars and explosions carrying on would be hard to ignore. But she did care...she couldn't resist a glance. Goku was nowhere to be seen. Chi-Chi's breath caught in her throat as she watched Prince Vegeta toss a limp Zarbon from his enormous Ape fist. She couldn't find Frieza.

"Chi-Chi!"

"I need to get back there," Chi-Chi decided. "I need to know what's happening!"

As she lunged toward the battle, broad arms encompassed her, casing her in their tight embrace. Chi-Chi tried to push past, but the grip was too strong, unrelenting. She screamed and thrashed, but it was no good.

"Chi-Chi, please!" Yamcha cried in her ear.

Chi-Chi growled. "Let me go!"

"You can't go over there," Yamcha growled as Chi-Chi thrashed, to no avail. "It's too dangerous!"

Chi-Chi needed to be with Goku. She didn't care what they came up with for a wish. They could wish the dragon _away_ for all she cared. She only wanted to be able to be there if Goku needed her. She didn't know what she could possibly do, but that didn't matter. What mattered was being there for him, willing to beat that Lord Frieza with her own two fist if it was necessary, not to hide here like a coward. With a roar, Chi-Chi planted her heel in Yamcha's shin. Wriggled free from his grasp when he cried out. Bounded away.

"Ow! Chi-Chi, that hurt!"

"Yamcha!" Puar cried.

Chi-Chi ran. She ran into the battle, into the waves of power pushing her back and warning her she was heading the wrong direction. She ran away from the rebuking voices of her friends crying after her in a chorus of frustration. But she was running toward _him_. Shaking her head and gritting her teeth, Chi-Chi powered through another wave that pushed her back. She stumbled, but she didn't stop. Goku wasn't far now. She knew, without a doubt, she had to be by that idiot's side.

When she reached the battle, Vegeta was in human form again. He roared as he clenched his pale fists in front of him, glistening tears seeping from the corners of his eyes.

"Why can't I beat you?" Vegeta said, casting Lord Frieza a glare. "As a Super Saiyan, the _prince_ of all Saiyans, I should be able to beat you!"

Lord Frieza laughed. "You should know that's just a foolish tale, Vegeta. You're not a child anymore."

Chi-Chi drew a sharp inhale as she panned her gaze across the battlefield. Goku had to be here somewhere. He couldn't be dead. Yet as her eyes landed on his familiar uniform, his black spikes of hair jutting from behind a grassy dune, he didn't seem to be moving. Lord Frieza could've finished with him already, before moving on to Prince Vegeta. Chi-Chi clasped a hand over her mouth and ran to Goku, thanking her luck that the Saiyan prince and that monster of a tyrant seemed too involved in their conversation to take any note of her presence. Her greatest hope was that Lord Frieza had spared Goku to use his knowledge for that rare technique. A lump formed in her throat when she finally dropped to her knees by his side. He didn't flinch. He hardly seemed to be breathing. The side of his face was caked in blood.

Chi-Chi brushed her fingers over his cheek, smearing the blood and feeling the warmth and moisture on his skin. "What did he do to you?"

Goku coughed, before turning into her hand. "Does it look that bad?"

"Goku!" Chi-Chi clasped her hands together, resisting the urge to pounce on him. "You have to get up."

He sat up slowly, narrowing his eyes at Chi-Chi. "Frieza?"

"Is fighting Prince Vegeta," Chi-Chi said with a wave in their general direction, "over there."

"All right!" Goku sat up, fighting a clear struggle just to get off the ground, yet still wearing a smile on his bloody face.

"A-are you sure you can fight?" Chi-Chi asked, reaching out to support him, but hesitating just short of making contact.

"Yes. I have to."

Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes. If Goku wasn't going to lie down and stay safe, he had better be prepared to win. She wasn't about to watch him confront Lord Frieza, only to be slaughtered right before her eyes.

With a grunt, she grabbed him by the chin, turning his face until his eyes met hers. "Then _don't_ lose. You have to tap into the transformation on your own."

Goku's eyes sparked, intense and full of light all at once. He looked inspired. For a Saiyan, he actually looked like he was bursting with emotion. It was probably the fight and battle adrenaline, but Chi-Chi's heart fluttered all the same, just thinking any bit of it had something to do with her.

"I can become a Super Saiyan," Goku said, clenching his fist and turning his glare toward Lord Frieza. "I can feel it."

As Goku rose to his feet, Chi-Chi scrambled to stand in front of him, pressing her hands to the cracked armor over his chest. "Promise me you won't lose."

Goku opened his mouth with a smile. Chi-Chi's gaze softened. Something struck her in the back. Pain lashed across her torso, tearing through her armor with a sickening snap. Chi-Chi's jaw fell as she looked down to see blood oozing from a diagonal crack across her armor. Her mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood as Chi-Chi looked deep into Goku's eyes. The lines of his eyes trembled, his irises wavering and flickering as they fixated on her. Chi-Chi blinked, wondering if she imagined a flash of light as her vision blurred. Goku's screams drowned out all other noises as she fell, choking on her blood and curling into the splitting pain across her chest and back. When she hit the ground, it trembled beneath her. It didn't cave _only_ from the impact of her body.

* * *

Chi-Chi opened her eyes to the sight of glowing swirls hazing her vision. Behind the swirls, big blue eyes blinked down on her. The distant sounds of screams filtered through her ears, vague and unidentifiable. A pain clenched her chest.

"Goku!" Bulma called, her blue eyes brimming with tears as a smile stretched across her face. "She's still alive! Chi-Chi's alive!"

"Chi-Chi," Yamcha said, leaning over her and patting at her tender ribs, now bare of armor and wrapped tight with bandages. "He did it! Goku's a Super Saiyan! He's kicking Lord Frieza's ass!"

Chi-Chi furrowed her brows and tried to sit up, groaning when the pain forced her to lay back. "What?"

"Yamcha!" Bulma snapped, slapping Yamcha's chest with the back of her hand. "Pay attention! She's bleeding again!"

"Oh, right," Yamcha said as a weight bore down on Chi-Chi's sternum. He cast Chi-Chi a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Chi-Chi."

A gush of air blew across them, making Chi-Chi cringe and clench her eyes shut. The slightest movement strengthened the ache, making her feel nauseas. When she opened them, she was washed in a golden glow, only for a second. The light moved away in a flash before the ground exploded only inches away from Bulma, as if a land mine had been set off. Lord Frieza's high-pitched shriek make Chi-Chi shiver.

"Are you sure?" Goku's voice called from the distance, his voice moving with every word. "She doesn't look okay."

Bulma rolled her eyes and batted stray locks of hair from her eyes. "She is, but she won't be for long. We need to get her out of here now!"

"Bulma," Yamcha said, his brows furrowed, his eyes focused on Chi-Chi's burning chest.

"We need to get her to the ship now, Yamcha."

"Do you think Goku's going to be able to keep Lord Frieza away?"

As Bulma and Yamcha's gazes shot in the direction of the battle noises, Chi-Chi strained to see. She couldn't lift her head enough to see more than the flashes of light in the sky and hear the power clashes of fists loaded with unbelievable power clashes. She couldn't see what was happening, and knowing Goku was fighting Lord Frieza, even if he _was_ a Super Saiyan, that upset her.

"What are you waiting for?" Goku yelled. "Get her to the ship! Get out of here!"

Chi-Chi's eyes shot wide open. "No!"

Bulma grimaced at Chi-Chi, groaning as she turned toward the fight. "Why don't you end it and leave _with_ us?"

A blast hit the dirt dangerously close, spraying hot sand and blades of grass all over Chi-Chi, Yamcha and Bulma. "He's not going _anywhere_! If anyone's going to end it and leave, it'll be me!"

Chi-Chi tensed as she caught sight of Lord Frieza's rigid finger aimed for them, hovering over her and the others. Her throat tightened when another figure appeared out of nowhere, separating them and Lord Frieza. The blast bound for them launched from Lord Frieza's hand, but the power was absorbed by the figure with the golden hair in the Saiyan uniform.

"Get out of here," Goku growled over his shoulder. "I'm not going to tell you again!"

"You!" Lord Frieza growled. "Die already!"

As Goku screamed and leapt away from them, Chi-Chi gasped. "Goku!"

Bulma clutched Chi-Chi's shoulder before she could snap into an upright position. "We've gotta go, Chi-Chi. You need to heal. Goku will be fine."

"He's-he's fighting Lord Frieza," Chi-Chi said, her voice trembling as she reached forward, finding her arms weak.

"He's a _Super Saiyan_ ," Yamcha said. "If anyone can beat Lord Frieza, it's Goku."

* * *

The humans were leaving. As Kakarot drew back his fist and threw it with all his might into Frieza's ugly face, he smiled to himself. Chi-Chi was in bad shape, but if the humans could get her off Namek, she could survive. And with them gone, Kakarot could give this battle his full attention.

"You're letting them go?" Prince Vegeta called from the sidelines.

Kakarot looked away from Frieza just long enough to catch a glimpse of Vegeta sneering toward the retreating Earthlings, throwing a blast their way. Kakarot's eyes bulged. He launched himself toward the prince, using his Super Saiyan speed to intercept the blast and redirect it straight up into the atmosphere with a blast of his own ki. With a growl, Prince Vegeta watched the glowing sphere dissipate into the green atmosphere.

"Frieza already took your tail," Kakarot said through clenched teeth. "Try to touch the Earthlings again, and I'll take something else."

Prince Vegeta's eyes bulged before narrowing into slits. His teeth were bared in that threatening expression Kakarot knew all too well, but he didn't have time to worry about Vegeta. Frieza was right behind him, sneaking up with another attack. Kakarot dodged to the left. He smirked at the shocked expression that crossed the prince's face before he turned to sweep a leg beneath Frieza. Then Frieza disappeared. Kakarot growled as he stood and extended his senses to find Frieza. He knew the Earthlings had to be back at their ship by now. He needed to finish this thing with Frieza.

"You're as good as dead then, Kakarot," Vegeta called to Kakarot's back, "whether you win this fight or not! Don't ever think about returning to Planet Vegeta."

"Aw," Frieza said, so close to Kakarot's ear that Kakarot tensed and didn't dare to look Frieza's way. "Is our Saiyan Prince a little jealous of his super-powered subject?"

"He shouldn't be," Kakarot said tersely, just loud enough for Vegeta to hear. "After I defeat you, Prince Vegeta can claim _he_ did it. There won't be any witnesses but these Nameks to say otherwise."

"I say otherwise," Frieza said as Vegeta gasped.

Kakarot spun with his arm in the air, trying to swipe his elbow across Frieza's face. He was stopped abruptly, his arm cradled in an unwanted grasp. Frieza's fingers pierced the crook of his arm like talons. Kakarot could see the prince just past Frieza, giving Kakarot a curt nod as their eyes met.

"Die," Frieza growled, "Super Saiyan!"

Kakarot gathered his power, intent on taking this fight seriously now. He couldn't play around with Frieza any longer. He had to get off Namek. He had to make sure Prince Vegeta wouldn't follow the Earthlings now that he didn't have Raditz or Nappa holding him back. He hoped the prince took his words seriously. Kakarot meant it when he said he wasn't returning to Vegeta. He would head to Earth as soon as he killed Frieza. He was going to follow Chi-Chi to the one place that had ever felt like home to him.

As brilliant purple light blazed in the distance, permeating Kakarot with waves of rage and Frieza's coursing power, Kakarot grit his teeth and raised his power to its full extent. He had never felt this much power coursing through his veins, and didn't know what he could do with it. But he was excited to see how this would go. After all the abuse he'd taken at Frieza's hands and under Frieza's command, Kakarot had no hesitation about killing the tyrant. He was only sorry he had to make this quick. He'd never catch up to Chi-Chi and the others if he toyed with his new powers for too long.

He roared into the air before turning his glare on the tyrant snarling at him. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, Frieza, after all the misery you've caused."


	22. On Earth

**On Earth, a year after the death of Frieza and the downfall of the Planet Trade Organization:**

Crisp mountain air filled Goku's lungs as he leapt over a brambling stream, his boots finding purchase on the rocky terrain at the water's edge. He looked toward the sky, the rolling white clouds with rays of sunlight peeking through bringing a smile to his face.

A fish leapt from the stream, large enough to catch Goku's eye and make him turn back toward the rapids. He had planned on hunting rather than fishing for his food today, but he supposed he shouldn't pass up this opportunity. That huge fish would be delicious cooked over a fire. He'd never tire of Earth's delicious food, though he missed the tastes of Earthling cooking.

It was never the same when he made it.

* * *

The sky was darkening into hues of pinks, purples and grays by the time he had the fire lit. His small mountain home was only feet away, dimly lit by lantern light as he set the skinned, freshly-caught fish over the spit.

He didn't expect the company, but he knew he had it when he picked up the scent of burning oil and heard the roar of a motor in the distance. The sounds grew closer as he rose to his feet, turning his cooking fish and tilting his head at the dirt path where he knew the vehicle was due to arrive. He licked his lips. The fiery smell of roasting fish was overcoming the pine scent of the mountain air. He hoped his unexpected visitor wouldn't be too long. He could feel his stomach rumbling already.

The vehicle sped into view, the gears churning in protest as the vehicle nearly flipped on its side with a harrowing turn. Goku's shoulders drooped as he spotted the determined face of the driver. Bulma.

Turning his back on the vehicle, Goku poked his fish with a stick and watched the orange sparks dance through the dark air as the vehicle door swung shut with a bang.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just wanted to see how our Super Saiyan is doing."

"Did Master Roshi send you? I told him, I don't need him to train me."

Bulma's face appeared in his line of sight, blocking the dazzling fire from view. Her blue eyes were instantly recognizable, but the curly array of hair tucked behind a red headband was something foreign to him. Goku did a double take, furrowing his brows when he thought he'd made a mistake. Maybe this _wasn't_ Bulma.

"Bulma?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile, before knitting her brows and then coifing her curls. "Oh. What do you think? Like the new 'do? I think Yamcha's really into it. He'd _better_ be, if I'm going to keep his eyes off all the other girls."

Goku grunted. He turned to the fire. His fish was nearly ready. He seated himself beside the fire, reaching to the side to ready his plate and sauces set aside for the food's final preparation.

"You settling in okay out here?" Bulma asked warily, stepping around the fire to stand across from him. "You're not thinking about blasting off to space and abandoning Earth, right?"

"No," Goku scoffed. "Why?"

"Well I mean," Bulma said, sitting with her legs folded, "it's kind of desolate out here. You could always live somewhere more populated if you're lonely. Remember, no one remembers you and the - you know, the-"

"Purge?" Goku asked with a smirk.

"Right." Bulma laughed uneasily.

"I know," Goku said as he reached for the spit and pried a piece of the fish off to fall onto his plate. "But I like it out here. This is the reason I chose to stay on Earth. There's no other planet like it. Plus, I can train as much as I want out here. There's no scouters, no kings to answer to. No one tells me what to do."

Goku bit into the scorching-hot fish, wincing as steam rolled off the uneaten bit of it and his tongue throbbed. Bulma couldn't see his frown while he ate. He was glad for it. Talking about having no one to tell him what to do reminded him of Chi-Chi. Sometimes, he didn't know what to do with his time. Unlimited training was great, but something was missing out here. Maybe he needed a war. Or someone to fight with. Bulma wasn't here to fight with him. She never was. But Chi-Chi would find something to fight about, if only she would come here and see him.

"Yeah," Bulma said with a forced smile, "you're probably much better off staying far from humans."

Goku wrinkled his nose. "I've gotten used to you, Master Roshi...and the others," Goku couldn't help wincing as he tried not to think of Chi-Chi, "but I can't stand most Earthlings. They're bizarre."

Bulma laughed, reaching across the dying flames to poke Goku's chest. "I know there's at least _one_ human you've been tolerating pretty well."

Goku turned his face from Bulma, gritting his teeth. He thought he was hiding it well. If Bulma noticed, maybe others noticed. Maybe Chi-Chi knew he wanted to see her. But if that was the case, it wasn't good that she wasn't the one out here now, seeking his company. She'd told him she needed a stable life with an Earth man. One who could "provide" for her, whatever that meant. Goku kept expecting her to tell him one day that she was with someone else, moved on. Bulma seemed to be suggesting a different motivation behind Chi-Chi's recent actions.

Heat rose to Goku's cheeks, enflaming his ears as he imagined Chi-Chi _wanting_ to see him. He shook his head. "What are you talking about, Bulma?"

"Don't lie to me," Bulma said. "Chi-Chi's been coming to see you."

Goku blinked. "She has?"

Bulma let loose an exasperated sigh. "Are you really this dense, or are you messing with me?"

Goku scratched his head. "Messing with you?"

The truth was, he was a little confused. And...maybe he was messing with Bulma. He'd sensed Chi-Chi's energy nearby, drawing toward him, on several occasions. Every time, it had put him in a panic. Every time, nothing happened. Her energy left Mt. Paozu without a moment of contact. Goku was shocked to learn that Bulma knew of these excursions. Until now, he thought he and Chi-Chi were the only ones aware of them. He didn't think he was meant to be keen to them, though. If Chi-Chi wanted him to know she was here, she would've made her presence known, right?

"Chi-Chi's my best friend," Bulma said. "For a long time there, she was my only friend. We're like sisters, me and her."

"Sisters?" Goku raised a brow. "You're related?"

"I said we're _like_ sisters, you dummy!"

Goku cast her a withering glare. "I have no idea what that's supposed to mean."

"It means she tells me everything," Bulma said, raising a pointed finger when Goku opened his mouth. "She didn't tell me anything. But sometimes when she doesn't tell me, she doesn't have to. I can tell what's going on."

As a sly smile crossed Bulma's face, Goku frowned. "What's...going on?"

"Listen," Bulma said with a huff. "I'm telling you this because you need to understand that I love Chi-Chi like she was my own little sister. That is why I am not going to stand around and watch my best friend get used."

"Used? Used for what?"

Bulma's brows narrowed, turning her big blue eyes to fierce slits as she moved around the fire and lunged into Goku's face. "It's always been Chi-Chi's dream to get married. And in spite of your...hostile beginnings, she seems to be hooked on you. So I can't believe I'm saying this, but you have my approval, as long as you treat her well."

Goku blinked. He had the feeling something pertinent had just been said, that it hadn't been easy for Bulma to confess whatever she just did, and he still had no idea why Chi-Chi wanted to see him but never came, or why her friends thought she _had_ been seeing him all along and getting used by him.

"Are you going to treat her well?" Bulma said, tapping her foot. "Ditch your evil ways?"

Goku frowned. "You think I'm evil?"

Bulma growled, her hands throwing up by the sides of her head. "Yes!"

Goku rubbed the back of his head, confused by Bulma's intense gaze. "Sorry, I don't know what you're asking me. Is Chi-Chi coming?"

Bulma's jaw dropped before her face flushed red. "Well, I wouldn't know. Chi-Chi's a modest girl. She hasn't...discussed that in detail with me."

"But you just said it was always Chi-Chi's dream."

Bulma's eyes bulged. "Cumming?"

"To get married."

"Oh!"

"What's a married?"

Bulma blinked. "A...married? You mean...you don't know?"

Goku raised his brows. After a year back on this Earth, he thought he'd encountered all of its surprises. Strange traditions. Human practices that were far different than what he knew back home. Being hit with a new one at this point was annoying. Bulma _expecting_ him to know what it meant was even worse. Worst of all was not knowing what this meant for him and Chi-Chi, what she was planning, or where she had been all this time he hadn't seen her since his return to Earth.

Bulma's shocked expression morphed into a glare as a throaty growl leapt from her throat. "I know what this is! You're just playing dumb because you want to keep toying with Chi-Chi's feelings!"

Bulma turned heel and stomped away, leaving Goku with the charred fish and a mind full of confusion. She stormed off, fists balled at her sides until Goku ran up to her side, grabbing her by the arm and whirling her around until she was facing him.

"Bulma! Tell me what it means."

Bulma scoffed. "Really?"

Goku nodded fervently. He had to know. As Bulma's eyes darted across his face, shimmering with the reflective glow of the dying firelight, Goku narrowed his brows. He refused to break his gaze. He wouldn't let her leave until she told him what she was talking about. He'd waited months alone on this mountain, giving Chi-Chi the chance to settle back into her home planet and find the life she always wanted, but if there was any chance her recurrent visits here _meant_ something, if she was coming here for him...he had to know. Bulma was the only person who could tell him, outside of directly confronting Chi-Chi.

Bulma sighed. "Marriage is a sacred tradition on our planet, Goku. It means Chi-Chi wants to live with you, make babies, keep up house. She wants you two to spend your lives together."

Goku furrowed his brows. "Doing what?"

"I just said what you would be doing!" Bulma snapped.

Goku laughed. "That's not much of anything."

"I'm serious, Goku. To Chi-Chi, it's everything. This is why she tried to look elsewhere, but that naive girl is too hooked on you to look anywhere else for a sane man."

"I'm not sane?"

Bulma raised her brows. "Not by human standards. You definitely stick out like a sore thumb everywhere you go."

"Chi-Chi's hooked on me?"

Goku felt a smile stretch across his face. He could care less about being considered normal by humans, but if what Bulma just said was true, Chi-Chi wanted to be with him. Something had been missing from _her_ existence on Earth, too. It wasn't just him. It wasn't just because he was a Saiyan and this world was too boring and civilized. Marriage didn't sound so bad, if that was Chi-Chi's condition for them being together. It didn't sound like it had any catch. Unless...

"This marriage thing...there aren't any needles involved or anything, right?" As Bulma laughed, Goku scowled at her. "Because I'm not going to do that!"

"Relax, Goku," Bulma said with a sigh, "worst thing that'll happen is you might have to dress up for the ceremony and say a few words, and promise never to break my best friend's heart."

"Break her- ?"

"Don't leave her, don't do anything to hurt her. I know you Saiyans are brutes," Bulma said with a roll of her eyes, "but do you think you can manage _that_ level of gentility at least?"

A smile lit Goku's face as he looked over the horizon, where another car appeared, roaring and whining louder and louder. It was the same car that had approached these mountains before. The same energy he felt prickling at his senses time and time again over these past months, but never coming close enough for him to reach out and touch her.

"You'd better get going, Bulma," Goku said, his smile spreading across his face, "unless you want Chi-Chi to know you were out here minding her business."

Bulma balked, sputtering as her brows narrowed and her eyes turned toward the horizon. She hurried to her car without another word, igniting the engine, putting it into gear and reversing down the mountain with a squeal of her tires. She gave Goku one last warning raise of her finger from her car window before she drove out of sight. Goku smiled at the disappearance of her car, before turning his smile on the appearance of Chi-Chi's. By the time Chi-Chi was stepping a pointed toe onto the mountain, Goku was laughing.

He didn't expect to greet her in such a way after this long separation, but she appeared amused by his antics as she came face to face with him. Her hair and eyes were as dark as he remembered them, shimmering beneath the starlight twinkling from above. As she brushed a loose strand from her dewy cheek, Goku felt his lungs seize up. He tried to swallow, but it was like every part of him had gone immobile. He hadn't seen her in so long. He'd forgotten how beautiful she was. He was happier than he could imagine, seeing her here.

"Goku," Chi-Chi said before she raised a brow, tilted her head and asked, "What's so funny?"

Goku pressed his lips together. It was pure excitement at seeing her now that made him want to smile, but it was clear by the narrowing of Chi-Chi's brows that she perceived his reception as him laughing _at_ her. He couldn't completely contain his excitement. He knew, after everything Bulma just said, that Chi-Chi wouldn't mind what he was about to do. If everything Bulma just told him was true, she most likely wanted it.

With a broadening smile, Goku spread his arms, swept Chi-Chi into his embrace, and pulled her in for a kiss. It felt so good to feel her lips again. He sighed into the kiss, their bodies entwining and becoming familiar again. Then Chi-Chi pulled away.

"I've been meaning to talk to you."

"So I hear," Goku laughed.

"I can't keep carrying on like this. I miss you, okay? Nobody else out there – so you hear from _who_?"

"Go on. Nobody else out there...is me?" Goku said with a grin.

"You know what?" Chi-Chi said, her brows twitching into a glare. "You are not the man I wanted. You couldn't be further from it! You're mean, you're careless, you're...you're Saiyan!"

"But you still want to be married, right?"

Chi-Chi choked back a gasp. "How-how did you-"

"Eh," Goku said, scratching his neck as he turned away from her and walked back toward the fire. "I'm not sure if I wanna do it."

Chi-Chi ran up behind him, the patter of her feet across the grassy terrain bringing a smile to Goku's face. " _Not sure?_ Why wouldn't you want it? Do you even know what it's about? Marriage is a beautiful thing!"

Goku turned, pointing at himself as he leveled Chi-Chi a nose to nose glare. "Saiyan, remember?"

"So?"

"We don't...marry. I don't see any need for it." Goku cocked his head, his gaze softening when he caught sight of the tremble of Chi-Chi's lower lip. "I've missed you, too, Chi-Chi. These mountains are boring all alone."

Chi-Chi looked up, her breath coasting across Goku's parted lips as she nearly closed the gap between them. "So marry me," she breathed. "I'll never let you be bored."

Goku's breath caught in his lungs, his heart leaping in his chest. His lips couldn't form words. The look in Chi-Chi's eyes was intense, sincere, intimate, and challenging all at once. He knew she never would let him get bored, but that was a threat as much as a promise. He supposed she was facing the same proposition in regard to him. Settling down with a Saiyan who had tried to kill her and her friends at one time was a risk for an Earth woman who might always think of him as a vile killer.

Kakarot had come a long way since he'd started considering himself Goku and getting comfortable on Earth, away from the skeletal remains of the PTO and the other Saiyans. Those on Planet Vegeta would mostly think as little of him now as they had then, considering that he'd allowed Prince Vegeta to take the credit for defeating Frieza. None of them would care about his disappearance, aside from perhaps his mother, but he'd said his goodbyes to her before setting a course for Earth. There was no point looking back. There was also something he liked about being a secret Super Saiyan. There was something fun in wondering if Prince Vegeta or some other powerful being might finally decide to pursue him here and confront his power. There was something _promising_ in the idea of remaining on Earth with Chi-Chi for the rest of his life.

He didn't know how life could always be interesting here in a state of peace. Aside from the natural beauty, the unlikely kindness of the humans he knew, the time he had to train, and the excellent food which could spoil him, Goku didn't see a whole lot of adventure for him on Earth. He had to know more about this married life.

"You won't let me get bored?" he said, raising his brows. "What do married people do on Earth?"

Chi-Chi shrugged as a brilliant pink blush bloomed across her cheeks, visible even in the subtle starlight. "You know. Build a house, work, raise children..."

"Raise them on what?"

"Hm? Nothing. You just...teach them. Help them grow."

"Really?" Goku raised a brow, struck by the surprising suggestion. "What could you possibly have to teach them?"

"Everything."

Goku blinked, bewildered. "Your young don't know anything? At all?"

"No," Chi-Chi said, pulling back from their near embrace to eye Goku. "Of course not. That's why parents need to teach them."

Goku laughed. "And you call _Saiyans_ stupid!"

"Hey!" Chi-Chi smacked his chest. It throbbed. "Who are you calling stupid?"

"At least we're not the ones," Goku continued laughing, "who depend on parents teaching us!"

Chi-Chi braced her hands on her hips, her face reddening. "Well how did you learn then?"

"We're all programmed from birth," Goku said, tapping his head, stifling the bark of laughter that threatened to escape his lips at the adorable anger etched across Chi-Chi's face. "Teaching basic knowledge sounds like a boring job."

"Well don't worry," Chi-Chi said with a harrumph. "I plan on teaching the children anyway. You might've been programmed from birth, but apparently you never bothered to learn more as you grew up."

"Of course not. I was fighting."

"Right. Fighting." Chi-Chi crossed her arms. " _That's_ what you find entertaining."

"Yeah. If I'm lucky, Prince Vegeta will come here someday to challenge me. I hope he masters the transformation, too," Goku said with a faraway gaze into space, imagining a ship appearing in the atmosphere.

"If you're lucky?" Chi-Chi cried, her shoulders sagging as her lips turned down in a frown.

"Yeah."

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Chi-Chi said, turning away and waving a dismissive hand in the air. "A crazy idea! I don't know what I was thinking. I can't possibly live the rest of my life with a Saiyan. I don't even know if we can have children together! I-I need to go."

"I'm willing to give it a try," Goku said, smiling at the way Chi-Chi's hasty departure came to an abrupt halt. "You came all this way to ask me somethin'. You're going to leave without waiting for my answer?"

Chi-Chi turned slowly, her eyes guarded and hesitant as they locked on Goku's face. "Answer to which question, exactly?"

Goku laughed. "You asked a lot of them, didn't you?"

Chi-Chi seized Goku by the lapel of his soft Earth clothing, shaking him furiously as she screamed in his face. "Which question?"

"The marriage one," Goku said with a grin, before giving Chi-Chi a shrug. "Sure. Why not?"

Chi-Chi's jaw dropped as she nodded slowly. "A-are you proposing?"

Goku stared, hoping to read something in her gaze. First it was 'married', now it was 'proposing'. He wished people would stop throwing random words at him with mysterious significance tied to their meanings.

Chi-Chi's arms suddenly launched into the air, causing Goku to stumble away from her reach as she squealed in his ear. When her arms wrapped around him, he tensed, shocked to be captured in her grasp. But the press of gentle lips against his cheek made him relax. She was happy.

But then she pulled away and glared. Goku grimaced. Maybe she _wasn't_ happy.

She slapped his shoulder. "You should've proposed to me properly, you jerk!"

"Hey!" Goku said, wincing as he held his injured arm. "You're lucky I said yes at all. Damn these Earthling customs." He hissed, massaging his throbbing shoulder. "This is the stupidest thing-"

"Shut up," Chi-Chi said, forcing her lips over his to make him do just that.

As Chi-Chi's fingers stroked through his hair, and her body melted against his as if they were molded pieces fitting precisely together, Goku smiled. His heart skipped another beat as he caressed Chi-Chi's cheek, running his other hand down the curve of her lower back. Her lips refused to leave his, her tongue entering his mouth with a show of dominance like he never would've expected from this women he once considered weak prey.

Impressed, Goku pulled back from their kiss and smiled. "I'd swear you're a Saiyan."

"Well I'm not," Chi-Chi said with a playful smile, a spark in her eyes as she met Goku's gaze. "And now you're not either, as far as _this_ planet is concerned."

"I've already got the human name," Goku said with a shrug, before throwing an arm over Chi-Chi's slender shoulders and turning them toward his house. "So why not?"

He looked out the corner of his eye, noting Chi-Chi eyeing the deep, aged crater in the ground as they passed it. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. He wanted to forget it, because he was more concerned now with other matters, like whether his new mate would cook him better food than what he'd produced, or when this child-making was supposed to start. But when Chi-Chi began gnawing her bottom lip, eyeing the doorway of his small house, he knew this was something she wasn't going to let go.

"What?"

"I was just wondering...how did you...come up with that name? Goku. It's so...real."

"Really? That's what you're wondering about?" Goku laughed, relieved Chi-Chi wasn't changing her mind already. "Well, it is real."

"What?"

Goku's eyes went wide, landing on the door of the tiny abode he'd called home this past year, the place he'd actively sought after crashing on Earth a second time. The crater he made more recently wasn't in the same location, but he was able to find the place, all the same. His new mate was going to start asking questions about his past now. Talking about those days could ruin everything between them. If Goku talked about his memories of this place, Chi-Chi might finally realize what a monster he truly was.

"You mean...you've been called Goku before? Here on Earth?"

"Ah," Goku chuckled. "Forget I said anything, Chi-Chi. You like the name, don't you?"

Chi-Chi nodded her head toward the mossy crater. "Is that your landing site, over there?"

"No!" Goku exclaimed, laughing. "I landed in a wasteland, not far from West City."

"I'm not talking about this time," Chi-Chi said, narrowing her dark eyes and grunting as she turned her head pointedly toward the crater.

"Oh! That crater," Goku said with a sigh. "Yep. So, what are we going to eat tonight? Can you cook as well as Mrs. Brief?"

"Stop. Just talk to me," Chi-Chi said, seizing Goku's hand in the grasp of warm, soft fingers. "Tell me how you got your name."

"Nah."

"Goku! All this time you've been living up here, I knew something about you choosing this place didn't make sense. Now I want to know."

"Know what?" he huffed.

"Are you going to make me do this the hard way, or will you just tell me?"

Goku crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really?" Chi-Chi said, raising a dubious brow. "Because I knew the man who owned this little house you've been living in. He was a friend of my father's and a very powerful old man, according to my father and Master Roshi. The last time we saw him, he made plans with my father to fight the monster together. We never saw him again."

Goku frowned, his gaze falling to the ground as his free hand clenched at his side, his hand in Chi-Chi's grip curling around her fingers. It wasn't right for a warrior to feel for anyone who wasn't Chi-Chi or his Saiyan family. He didn't want to show weakness, but Chi-Chi seemed to be inviting it. Her hand stroked at the web of Goku's palm when a traitorous tear wetted his cheek.

"When I first landed here," Goku said with a weary sigh, fighting the tightness in his throat, "there was a crazy old man who fed me and offered me a place to sleep."

"Son Gohan?" Chi-Chi said with an encouraging smile.

Goku nodded. "I wasn't very nice to him."

Chi-Chi laughed. "I wouldn't want to imagine you as a child."

"But he didn't mind," Goku said, a smile stretching his lips as he conjured an image in his mind of the rosy-cheeked, patient old man. "He kept feeding me anyway. He started calling me Goku when I refused to give him my name. He never let me sleep out in the cold, even when I tried to rough it outdoors on my own. I guess when he saw me, he just saw...a child. The same way you do."

"Yeah." Chi-Chi's smile softened. "I wouldn't care that you had a tail, not if I saw a toddler out in the cold with no mother to care for him."

Goku scoffed. "Well anyway, I warned him. He didn't listen."

"He - he knew? He knew you were the monster killing everyone?"

"He insisted I keep coming back," Goku said, furrowing his brows as he recalled the memory with a different perspective, pieces that seemed unbelievable to him then, now making sense from an adult perspective after having spent more time around humans. "Maybe he didn't really believe I'd kill him, no matter how many times I said it. I think he thought he could change my ways."

"What happened?"

Goku flashed Chi-Chi a bitter smile. "I happened."

Chi-Chi gasped, releasing Goku's hand. "He cared for you and that's how you repaid him?"

"I told him every day, I would kill him," Goku said, narrowing his brows. "In the end, I was too weak to do it. A full moon had to catch me off guard to make me finally kill the geezer."

Goku pressed his lips together, pressing down the well of negative emotions he felt rising to the surface. He remembered the aftermath of that night well. He didn't have full control of his Giant Ape form yet at that age. He wondered now if the old hermit really intended to fight Goku alongside his friends, or if he was only leading them on while planning to continue caring for Goku. He would never know now. He'd killed him too soon.

"I'm a monster," Goku whispered.

"No," Chi-Chi said, dragging her fingernails softly across the back of his neck as she moved in closer. "You're not a monster. A monster would be proud of that moment! Besides, do you think I would ever marry a monster?"

Goku blinked back his focus as he met Chi-Chi's heartfelt, dark-eyed stare. "Chi-Chi."

"No more talk of that. You're my husband now, so you better start actin' like one."

Goku felt like he'd just been relieved of crushing gravity. His emotions were weightless, suspended by Chi-Chi's acceptance. She was an amazing woman. Not many people would be able to overlook Goku's horrible acts in the past. He knew Chi-Chi was forgiving and she loved him, but he didn't expect her to be this forgiving. Now that she knew _everything_ , he truly felt he could spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted nothing _more_ than to spend his life with her.

"Good," Goku said with a mischievous grin, sweeping his arm under Chi-Chi's legs until their weight was supported in the crook of his arm and her body was pressed against his chest. "I'll start by celebrating this proposal!"

"Waa!" Chi-Chi cried, her arms and legs flailing in the air. "How?"

Goku sniffed the crook of Chi-Chi's neck, drawn to it by her feather-soft hair flying in his face. She smelled like fresh spring water and jasmine flowers. Even better than he remembered her from that first night together. It had been so long since he'd felt her. All the times she'd come to the mountain and done nothing to make contact with him, Goku had thought about holding her in his arms again, feeling her.

"Oh," Chi-Chi said, a pretty shade of pink once again spreading across her cheeks as she fluttered her lashes and met Goku's gaze. "I guess it's never too soon to start a family."

Goku smiled. "Sure."

If Chi-Chi wanted a family, he could give her a family. It was a far better future than Goku ever foresaw for himself before, working under Frieza's rule. Earthling ways may have been strange, they might've taken some adjusting over this past year, but Goku knew he would never want to go back. He knew the trouble was bound to come to him soon enough anyway, and when it did, he'd be ready for it. In the meantime, he had Chi-Chi, and this whole new adventure of marriage to explore. And she was happy. She had her Earth back, just the way she wanted it, just as Goku realized he should've left it.

And she _didn't_ think he was a monster.


End file.
